Jurassic Park: Aftermath
by texasraptor
Summary: Following the events on Isla Nublar, the survivors find themselves caught in a political struggle between two countries. Will they ever be able to return home? Will their lives ever return to normal?
1. Prologue

DISCLAIMER: Any recognizable characters and the basic premise of Jurassic Park belong to the fertile minds of Michael Crichton and Steven Spielberg. All other characters belong to me.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: In conceptualizing the story I've taken elements I liked from both the book and the film version of JP. Think of the book and film running into each other; the story is what's left over.

He heard a menacing growl behind him, and whirled around; oh dear God, there were two raptors now, blocking their escape. Ellie, I never told you how much I love you, he thought with despair so great it all but brought him to his knees. The snarling raptors circled closer and closer, limbs outstretched, their eyes shining with a vicious intelligence. Please let it be quick, he prayed. With a final snarl, the raptor coiled its body and leaped…


	2. Chapter 1

"Alan, wake up, we're about to land."  
  
Alan jerked awake, his heart fluttering madly. At first confused about where he was, he looked at Muldoon and Gennaro. Then he knew why he was on this damn helicopter.  
  
"Ellie, please tell me we're landing in Montana," he said, only half kidding.  
  
She looked at him sympathetically. The deep forest they had been flying over was giving way to the city. "I wish I could, honey. We've been headed inland; probably towards San José."  
  
San José meant civilization, Alan thought. He didn't like cities but it was good enough for now. He wanted to get Tim to a doctor. Other than a few minor burns on his hands, he did not seem to have any permanent damage from the electric shock he had taken. There was no way to tell for sure without a medical exam. That he was alive at all was a miracle. He would never forget the sight of the youngster flying off the electric wire into his arms; the sickening realization that he was not breathing. Tim had survived; the four of them had survived. John Hammond and Ian Malcolm had not been as lucky.  
  
Alan looked down. As they had been for most of the flight, Tim and Lex were propped against his chest, sound asleep. He looked over at Ellie and she shook her head, amused by his predicament. He knew it must seem ironic; he had been "adopted" by two of the very creatures he had claimed to dislike so much. The fact was in just a short period of time he had grown to feel a great deal of affection and responsibility for them.  
  
Ellie watched the scene before her. Alan reminded Ellie of a large bird, wings spread protectively around his brood. It was such a heartwarming sight that she wished she had a camera to record the moment. Their friends would never believe it otherwise.  
  
Sensing their forward movement slowing, he figured they were about to land. He gently shook their shoulders. "Guys, time to wake up."  
  
The kids groggily opened their eyes and yawned. Lex smiled at him and then her expression changed and she clutched at him in panic.  
  
"Easy, Lex," he said reassuringly. "You're safe now. Nothing's going to hurt you, I promise."  
  
His words seemed to calm Lex and she relaxed her hold on him. "You always keep your promises."

"You bet I do," he answered with a wink.  
  
Ellie watched the exchange between them. She couldn't understand why Alan didn't want children. He was patient, and seemed to know instinctively what to say. He was a natural father, Ellie thought sadly.  
  
"Where are we?" Tim asked.  
  
"San José Airport, by the looks of it," he answered. He vaguely remembered what the airport looked like from when they had landed before. It had just been two days ago, but it felt like an eternity ago.  
  
They had dropped lower; their forward movement ceased and they settled gently on the ground with a slight shudder. Soon the rotors began to wind down.  
  
Gennaro stood up and left the helicopter without a look back. As far as he knew, during the entire flight Gennaro had huddled in his seat, silent.  
  
"He's not a nice man," Tim said to Alan, frowning.  
  
"Timmy, I couldn't agree with you more." During their time on the island, Gennaro had done nothing to change his initial opinion of the man. He simply couldn't stand him.  
  
"Need any help with the kids?" Muldoon asked, glancing at Ellie while he spoke.  
  
"We can handle it," Ellie said icily. She was glad he had survived of course, but she wanted nothing to do with him. He was a drunken fool as far as she was concerned. He had been useless on the island when she had needed him the most, and now he wanted to help?  
  
"Okay, then," Muldoon responded with a shrug and left them.  
  
Alan wondered what was going between them. "Ellie?"

"I'll explain later. Let's get out of here," Ellie said.  
  
"Sounds good to me," Lex said as she stood up, wincing slightly.  
  
"Sore?" Ellie asked  
  
"Yeah, a little..."  
  
"I know the feeling," she said rubbing a bruised area on her arm.  
  
Alan picked Tim up and a twinge of pain ran through his back. Ellie was certainly right about that, and he had a hunch they'd be worse off tomorrow.  
  
As he stepped out of the helicopter onto the tarmac, he noticed a squad of military men nearby. An officer, who had been talking to Gennaro and Muldoon, approached him.  
  
"Señor..."  
  
"Grant... Alan Grant."  
  
"Señor Grant, I am Captain Rosas from the Costa Rican National Guard. Are you in charge?"  
  
Alan thought the question was absurd. "No, I'm not in charge. You might try asking that man over there," he said pointing at Gennaro, who gave him a panicked look.  
  
"He said he is not in charge."  
  
"No, of course he isn't..." he muttered. What an ass... With Hammond dead, Gennaro knew more about InGen's activities than anyone. "Robert, how about you; are you in charge?"   
  
"Nope, not me, I'm just a hired hand," Muldoon answered, who looked amused at the situation.  
  
The officer looked at Ellie, but did not speak, and then turned once more to face Alan.  
  
"Please, Señor Grant, I would like to know who is in charge."

"Nobody's in charge," he said testily. What is this guys problem, he wondered. Who cared who was in charge?  
  
Nonplussed, the officer stared at him. Well, this was certainly an interesting situation; the first Costa Rican standoff ever, he thought. What did Rosas want him to say? The question was irrelevant. He decided to try a different tact. "Captain, the boy needs a doctor as soon as possible," Alan said.  
  
The soldier ignored his last statement, which irritated him even more. "Señor Grant, there must be a person in authority."  
  
Uh oh, Ellie thought. She had learned to read Alan's moods very well. He didn't lose his temper very often but she knew he was about to blow up.  
  
Motioning for Ellie to take Tim, he closed the space between the two of them; getting right in the face of the shorter man. "Listen... For the last time, there's nobody in charge; they're all dead," he said bluntly. He heard Lex and Tim gasp and he instantly regretted the statement. Damn, he remembered the kids had already been asleep when Muldoon told him about Hammond and Malcolm. He couldn't do anything about it now.  
  
_What we have here is a failure to communicate..._ The phrase from _Cool Hand Luke_ popped into his mind; it certainly fit the situation. He decided to make one more try at reasoning with the man. "Captain, Timmy got a bad shock earlier today; that's why he needs to see a doctor."  
  
Again, the Captain ignored what he had said; turned to another soldier and began to speak rapidly in Spanish. Alan clenched his fists. His Spanish was rusty; and he only understood a few words. He glanced at Ellie for help; she could speak Spanish much better than he could. For some reason she was staring at him, her eyes wide with shock; not paying attention to the conversation going on between the two men.  
  
Alan saw a white van drive up, and a young man jumped out of the car. He trotted up to them; halted and looked around uncertainly.  
  
"Señor Grant, I understand your concern about the boy, but I he appears to be fine other than a few cuts and bruises. I assure you, he will be taken care of in due time, but first you and the others must speak to representatives of my government."  
  
Alan's temper, already frayed to the breaking point, abruptly snapped. He grabbed the officer's lapel, and instantly found himself surrounded by armed soldiers.  
  
"Alan, don't!" Ellie shouted her attention back on Alan. She felt Tim tense in her arms.  
  
"We are taking Tim...to...the...hospital," Alan ground out, teeth clenched. "After that, I don't give a damn what happens; I'll go talk to whoever you want me too. But I'm not going anywhere before the hospital."   
  
"Hang on, hang on. There's no reason for bloodshed," said the man who had just joined them, trying to defuse the escalating situation.  
  
"Come on Dr. Grant, back it down a notch. You're not helping things if you get your head blown off." Muldoon said.  
  
In his peripheral vision, Alan saw Gennaro attempt to slink away, and noted with satisfaction that a soldier stopped him at gunpoint before he got far.  
  
"There will be no bloodshed, if Señor Grant will kindly remove his hands from my uniform."

"Alan, please. Let him go," Ellie pleaded, frightened for his safety. She was relieved when he slowly released his hold on the man and stepped back.  
  
Giving Alan a hard look, the Captain gave his men an order; they obediently lowered their weapons.  
  
Alan shifted his gaze to the man who had spoken earlier. "Who the hell are you?" he demanded.  
  
"Sir, I'm Joe Reiling from the American Embassy. I uh...I'm here to help you." The truth was he wasn't sure what to do or even what was going on. His only orders had been to meet some survivors of an accident on Isla Nublar. Accident was an understatement. Cuts; bruises were the order of the day; the man and children's clothes had been stained red from the volcanic soil of the island. They had clearly been through an ordeal and he could understand the man's anger; they obviously needed medical attention.  
  
"Mr. Reiling, my name is Alan Grant, and this is Ellie Sattler. My two young friends are Tim and Lex. The Captain and I aren't communicating very well; maybe you can persuade my friend over there to let us go the hospital," Alan said with heavy sarcasm.  
  
Reiling nodded. "Mr. Grant, I'll see what I can do." Why was the National Guard here, he wondered as he walked over to the officer. That wasn't normal at all, and neither was the Captain's attitude. The Costa Rican's were normally non-confrontational, and very cordial. His instincts told him there was much more going on than just an accident.  
  
Alan leaned against a car and tried to calm down. He watched Reiling and Rosas, who were engaged in an animated discussion. He wished Reiling good luck in persuading Rosas to let them go, the man was pigheaded. _And Ellie thinks I'm stubborn._  
  
Ellie was upset with Alan. Always protective of his friends and loved ones, she thought he had gone too far, and taken a huge risk. "Alan Grant, don't you ever do that again. You scared me to death," Ellie said, fussing at him.  
  
Tim exhaled in relief. "Yeah, me too..."  
  
He looked at Lex, and he had to smile at her. "Well, Lex, your turn."   
  
Lex stood, hands on hips. "Alan, that was dumb. They could have shot you!"  
  
Suddenly he realized it had been a crazy thing to do. "You know...you're right. It was dumb," he said sheepishly.  
  
They all laughed; it felt good to him. He couldn't remember the last time he had laughed; it felt like a lifetime ago.  
  
Reiling left Rosas and came back to them. Alan couldn't tell from his expression what the verdict was; he held his breath.  
  
Reiling nodded at Alan. "Rosas is going to take the others down to talk to the Costa Ricans, and I'm going to take you guys to be checked out. After that you'll go down and talk to them."  
  
Alan looked at him in disbelief. That is exactly what he had wanted to do. "Unbelievable," he muttered. He saw Ellie shake her head.  
  
"Okay, let's go," he said finally.


	3. Chapter 2

Reiling's passengers were quiet; each lost in their own thoughts. Grant and Sattler weren't hanging all over each other, but there had been a look here and a touch there that made it clear they had a relationship.

Ellie stared out the van window, her mind in turmoil. On the helicopter, she had put all thoughts of the dead aside. They were alive, she, Alan, Tim and Lex. On the helicopter, she had repeated that to herself, like a mantra. She had never experienced violent death first hand, and now she could not stop thinking about the gruesome way their lives had ended. She had never felt so helpless; so frightened in her life. She didn't know if she would ever feel safe again. Overwhelmed and fighting back tears, she leaned her head against Alan's chest. "Oh Alan..."

His arm around her shoulders, he rubbed her arm, trying to comfort her. "I know, I know, but it's over now," he said softly. His emotions surged again in helpless anger at her sorrow. Not knowing what else to do, he kissed her forehead and looked into her eyes. "Hey, we're going to get through this," he said with every bit of determination he could muster.

Reassured by his calm manner and words of determination, she nodded, wiping her eyes. "I know we will."

Lex turned around from the front seat and looked at her in concern. "Ellie, are you okay?"

With a smile, Ellie patted her on her arm. "Yeah, I am now, thanks to this guy," she said, patting Alan on the thigh. "How are you doing?"

"I don't know," she said honestly, her expression reflecting a range of emotions. "Everything seems like a bad dream." She looked at Alan intently. "Is it true...about Grandpa?"

"Yes, I'm afraid it is," he said regretfully. "I'm sorry you and Tim had to find out like that. I should have thought about what I was saying."

"It's okay. You were just trying to help Tim." Lex frowned and turned around.

Concerned about Tim, Ellie leaned forward and smiled encouragingly. "Hey, kiddo...doing okay over there?" The outgoing youngster had clung to them and scarcely said a word since they had left the island.

Tim nodded at Ellie, but remained silent. Alan put his other arm around the youngster and gave him a hug. Tim gave him a wan smile in return.

Reiling wondered what their relationship was to the children. Ellie looked too young to be their mother, and the girl had called Grant by his first name. Grant was extremely protective of the children, especially the boy, who seemed very fragile emotionally. Curious about what had happened to them, he decided not to pry.

"Alan, I've been thinking about something," Ellie said as they walked into the hospital accompanied by Reiling. "I think we'd better think up some kind of story about what happened."

"I've been thinking about that too." He could see them trying to explain the situation to their friends and families. _Well, first, a T. rex tried to eat the kid's car and because the car was stuck 50 feet in the air, I had to climb up that damn tree and get him. Said car then chased us all the way down the tree and fell on top of us. Later, Tim took a 10,000-watt shock from a fence and stopped breathing. I gave him CPR and he was fine. Oh yeah, as a bonus we were nearly slaughtered by velocoraptors, but we were saved when the rex attacked and killed the raptors. _Good God, they'd have the men in the white coats after them for sure. "For simplicity's sake, how about we say we had a boating accident and had to be rescued from one of the islands."

"Marooned on an island... You know, that might be nice in certain circumstances." Ellie said, nudging him with her hip.

"As long as it doesn't have tall fences and animals with sharp teeth..."

Tim stopped suddenly. "Do we really have to go in here? I feel okay."

Alan bent down at Tim's level and looked at him in sympathy. "You don't like hospitals?"

"No," he whispered, eyes wide in apprehension.

"Tim's scared of hospitals," Lex said derisively.

Tim's face grew stormy and Alan knew from experience the two were about to get into an argument.

"Well Lex, a lot of people don't like hospitals, including me." Alan said.

Lex looked at him in surprise. "That's right, I hate them, which isn't a good thing when your mother's a doctor and works at a hospital."

"Your mom's a doctor? Wow, that's cool..." Lex exclaimed.

Alan nodded at Lex. "That she is, Lex. So see, you can never tell about people." It was true, hospitals had always given him the creeps; he had never been able to figure out why. He felt queasy right now; only the urgency of the situation kept him moving forward.

Ellie kneeled down beside Alan. "Tim, we took a beating on the island, and the doctors need to check us all out, just to make sure everything's in working order." She didn't want Tim to feel singled out. "You don't have to worry; we'll be there with you."

Tim considered this for a moment. Visibly gathering his courage, he nodded. "Okay," he said firmly.

"Good lad. Come on let's get this over with." Alan said, patting his shoulder affectionately.

__

_I look like five miles of bad road_, Alan thought as he peered into the bathroom mirror. He gingerly washed a gash in his cheek. He looked down at his clothes, and grimaced in distaste. They were going to have to get some more clothes; his were stiff with dried mud, dirt and sweat. He didn't mind getting dirty; it was unavoidable in his line of work, but he hadn't been this—grimy in a long time. Oh well, at least he had gotten a few layers of dirt off his face and hands.

"Ready, Tim?"

"Yep..."

Alan noticed Tim had brightened up a bit, which was a good sign.

"Hey, Tim..."

"Yeah?"

"I want you to know you're being really brave, you know that? I'm very proud of you."

Tim beamed proudly, and he thought what a strange sensation it was to have such influence over one so young. He had to admit he got a kick out of it.

"Alan, you're not just saying you don't like hospitals, are you?"

"Nope, they give me the willies." Alan had an idea, and stuck out his hand. "I'll tell you what. We'll take care of each other. Deal?"

Tim put his small hand into Alan's large hand and gave it a shake. "Deal!"

They found Reiling, carrying a clipboard, waiting with Lex and Ellie. Ellie glanced at her watch and cleared her throat. "Now, who is always complaining that it takes me such a long time to get ready?" Ellie teased.

"Ha, ha..." Alan replied dryly. He saw Reiling grin. "You see what I have to put up with?"

"Let's grab some seats," Reiling said. "The clerk wants you to fill out these forms. They're in English, by the way. There have been so many Americans move down here in the last few years that most official forms are bi-lingual."

"I'm glad of that, I'm too tired to translate," Ellie said with a chuckle.

"Alan, I'm thirsty, can I get a drink?" Lex asked, pointing at a water fountain.

"Yeah, me too," Tim echoed.

His throat was parched, but he wasn't sure if the water was safe. The last thing he wanted them to get was the _touristas_. He had once gotten a case on an expedition in South America, and it had been the most miserable experience of his adult life.

"Is the water okay?" he asked Reiling. The truth was he didn't know much about Costa Rica, other than the president had received the Nobel Prize a few years earlier for helping end the Central American wars.

"It's perfectly safe. I know I'm sounding like a tour guide, but I think you'll find Costa Rica is a very modern country." Posted to Costa Rica, he had reacted with disappointment, feeling it was a backwater country. However, over time he had learned to love the country and its people.

Ellie laughed. She liked Reiling, and she thought Alan did too. Alan tended to make up his mind quickly about people, and more often than not, he was right.

The little group trooped over to the water fountain. Alan lifted Tim up to the fountain and again he felt a twinge of pain, which he tried to ignore. He thought he had hurt it when the skeleton collapsed in the visitor center. He would take the back pain; the alternative would have been impalement. After the kids and Ellie had drunk their fill, it was his turn. The water was delicious; he could have drunk for an hour.

They found some seats in the waiting area; the uncomfortable plastic kind, Alan noted with distaste. For a moment, he wished for his comfortable recliner back home.

"Hey, while you guys are filling those out, I'm going to check in with the Embassy," Reiling said.

"Okay, we'll be here." Ellie said.

He started to walk off, then stopped and snapped his fingers. "Oh wait," he said and came back to the children. "Guys, I'm going to have the Embassy phone your parents and let them know you're okay," he said. Sitting down beside them, he took out a pad and pen. "Can I have your last name?"

"Our name is Murphy." Lex said.

"Great... And your Mom and Dad's name is?"

"Our Mom's name is Lynda..."

"Don't bother calling our Dad, he won't be there," Tim broke in, a hint of bitterness in his voice. "They're getting a divorce."

Ellie looked at Alan and he shrugged at Tim's words. He remembered Lex had called out to her father when he pulled her out of the car, but other than that, they had not mentioned either parent the entire time.

"Oh okay. I'm sorry to hear that, guys, it's a tough thing to go through."

They both nodded, but didn't say anything.

"Our phone number's 415-026-4478," Tim said.

"Good deal, thanks for the info..."

"We'll talk to her tonight." Ellie said. She looked at her watch; it was almost two. They still had to talk to the Costa Rican government people; there was no way they were going to be able to leave today. They all needed a change of clothes, but everything they had was still on the island. Included her glasses, she realized. She had miraculously kept her contacts in, but she would need another pair for a backup.

"Okay, I'll let them know. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Reiling dialed the Embassy's number at the payphone and asked for his supervisor's extension.

"Ellington..." came the gruff voice.

"Roger, it's Joe."

"Joe, where the hell are you, and where are the people you were supposed to pick up? The Costa Ricans are having a fit."

"We're at the hospital—"

"The hospital? What in the world are you doing there?"

"Greg, you should see these people; they look like they've gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson. We're here because they needed medical attention. The Costa Rican in charge was being an asshole; hell, hell they were at each other's throats when I showed up. Besides, you didn't tell me what to do after I got there. I did what I thought was right."

"You're right, I didn't tell you what to do," he admitted. "Is his name Grant?"

"Yeah, it is. There's a woman with him named Sattler. " Reiling wondered how the Embassy knew his name. Once again, he had the distinct impression something big had happened. "Look, why don't you tell me what's going on here, or are you going to keep me in the dark for good?"

Reiling heard Ellington exhale. "Okay, this is what we know; things are chaotic right now. We got this information from one of the people who came off the helicopter, a Robert Muldoon. He's some kind of big game hunter. An American company leased Nublar a few years ago and set up some kind of zoo, and something went wrong. All hell broke loose, and the animals killed the owner and some other people, including a mathematician by the name of Malcolm."

Reiling remembered one of them was dressed like a hunter, he wondered what kind of animals they had kept there. "There was somebody else on the chopper. He seemed mostly interested in getting away."

"Oh yeah, _him_... His name is Donald Gennaro. The Costa Rican's have gotten very little out of him other than the people you have are some kind of dinosaur experts, PhDs."

"You mean they're paleontologists?" He wasn't into the subject, but his younger brother had been nuts about dinosaurs for practically his whole life. He never would have thought they were scientists; they didn't fit the nerdy stereotype at all. Ellie Sattler was downright beautiful, and she had the brains to match. Alan Grant was a lucky man.

"Whatever they're called, Gennaro said Grant's a major player in the field, one of the biggest. Anyway, the Costa Rican's are royally pissed about the whole situation, and they want him down there post haste."

Oh rats, he thought. If they were PhD's, he should have been calling them _Doctor_. He hoped they were not offended. As a freshman in college, he had once accidentally called a PhD _Mr.,_ and the man had practically torn his head off. Fortunately, he never had to take one of his courses; he would probably have never passed.

What in the world had two paleontologists and a mathematician been doing on the island, he wondered. The whole situation was getting weirder and weirder. Something unusual had happened that was certain; he recalled their decision to say they had been in a boating accident.

Reiling remembered Lex and Tim. "They have two kids with them who they aren't related to. Their parents need to be notified that they're safe."

"Okay, I'll do that. What are their names?"

The kid's names are Murphy; Lex and Tim; the mother's name is Lynda—

"Murphy? Wait a minute..." Reiling heard the rustling of papers; he imagined the scene. Ellington kept the messiest desk he had ever seen. How he managed to get any work done was an ongoing mystery to the other people in his department.

"Here it is..." he muttered. "The guy who owned the company was named Hammond, and his daughter's name is Lynda Murphy."

"Oh man... They must be his grandkids." The conversation he had overheard between Lex and Grant now made complete sense. "Have you talked to her yet?" The Embassy routinely handled such matters in cases like this. It was one of the unpleasant parts of the job. "Apparently, she's getting a divorce from her husband."

"I haven't yet, that was the next thing on the list. Are the kids hurt?"

"Cuts and bruises.... Grant's concerned about the boy for some reason, that's why we're here. He's sure had the hell scared out of him, that's clear. They said they'd call her tonight."

"Well, the Costa Ricans want to talk to Grant ASAP."

"Okay I'll bring them down afterward. I'm not sure how much they're going to get out of him, he's about out on his feet. Look, they're going to have to stay overnight anyway, why can't Grant talk to them tomorrow?"

"The Costa Rican's aren't going to be put off, I'm afraid. Pauley's already there, trying to put the fires out."

Reiling whistled; it took a major incident to get the Ambassador involved.

"Joe, I hope your new friends don't have any pressing business back in the states. I think they're going to have a nice long Costa Rican vacation."

Alan and Ellie huddled together filling out the forms. She realized they would have a clinic bill to pay for. "You have your wallet, right?"

"What's left of it," he said as he pulled it out of his pants pocket. The mud and water had ruined the leather, and he would have to replace the pictures of Ellie and his family. His credit cards and driver's license had survived intact however. He knew what she was thinking. They had insurance through the university, but it wouldn't be any good here. "I hope they take credit cards."

"I have mine, too." She had put it in her pocket before they had started on the tour, almost as an afterthought. "I don't have any Costa Rican currency though."

"I don't either; hell, I don't even know what kind of currency they use here."

"I don't have a clue either. I guess we'll have to find that out." Ellie hoped they weren't there long enough to become experts on Costa Rica.

They finished gathering the information from the children they needed and Alan took the clipboard back to the clerk.

"Thank you Señor, the doctor will see you as soon as possible," she said in English. The waiting room was crowded; it would probably be a while.

Alan wearily walked back to his chair and slumped into his seat. Finding a moderately comfortable position, he closed his eyes. What little energy he possessed was fast running out. If he was going to keep going, he was going to need some caffeine, and fast. What he wanted more than anything was to take a long hot shower and sleep for a couple of days.

Ellie clasped her hand into his rough, strong hand; and intertwined their fingers. She had always loved his hands; they had talents beyond digging up dinosaurs. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and though he didn't open his eyes, he smiled. She wished she could relax as Alan could. She was desperately tired, but she could not relax.

Tim and Lex were talking and laughing which was a good sign to Ellie after Tim's previous withdrawn behavior. They had been through an extremely traumatic event, she was afraid they were in for some rough times for a while. She noticed Reiling striding towards them. "Alan..." she said.

"Hmm..." Alan muttered as he opened his eyes. "I didn't get you in trouble, did I?"

"Nope..." Reiling said. "They wanted to know where we were. They're expecting you after you finish. Hey, it appears that I should be calling you Dr. Grant and Dr. Sattler. I apologize for that."

Grant waved him off. He was proud of his PhD as Ellie was, but Reiling hadn't known about that. Besides, he thought it was about time they went on a first name basis. "Don't worry about it, call me Alan."

"And please call me Ellie."

"Okay, if you'll call me Joe."

"Joe, we have a small problem," Alan said. "I need some caffeine, but we don't have any Costa Rican money. What is the currency here, by the way?

"It's called the Costa Rican Colon."

"Colon..." He repeated the word. "Okay, we'll remember that."

"I have an idea. Since you guys are cash poor, how about I spring for some Cokes."

"That would be great." Alan said.

"Works for me..." Ellie said.

"Yeah, me too," the two children chimed in as one.

"Okay, then. I'll get some change, and find out where there's a machine."

"I think I'll give Mr. Reiling a hand with the drinks," Alan said.

Ellie knew Alan wanted to speak to the man privately out of the children's curious earshot. She knew he would fill her in later.

"It's this way, I think." Reiling said pointing down a hallway. He had gotten both directions and change from the clerk. "Yep, there it is."

Alan saw the machine as they came around the corner. He decided it was time to find out how much Reiling knew. "Joe, do you know what InGen was doing on Isla Nublar?"

As he fed coins into the dispenser, he repeated what Roger had told him. Retrieving the can from the machine, he handed it to Alan. "Something went wrong and some people, including the owner, John Hammond, and a mathematician were killed." Reiling saw Alan's expression tighten.

"His name was Ian Malcolm. He saved our lives, the kids and mine both," he said quietly, his mind drifting back to those frenzied minutes on the road. Malcolm had gotten on his nerves from the very start, but he would have never gotten Lex out of the car if Malcolm had not drawn the Rex off. With a shake of his head, he brought his mind back to the present. Reiling was looking at him, waiting patiently. "Sorry... I uh...I kind of got sidetracked."

"No, problem, I understand. Anyway, that's all I know. I was actually hoping you could fill me in."

Alan knew Reiling would probably find out what happened, so he might as well tell him the whole story. How could he tell the story without sounding like a lunatic? He realized there was no other way than with the cold hard truth. "Hammond invited Malcolm, Ellie and me to take a look at the park. If we liked what we saw, we'd write up an endorsement. In return, we would get three years funding out of the deal. Nice and simple, right?" Taking a second can, he thought for a moment before speaking. "I'm a paleontologist, Joe, what kind of exotic animals do you think I might be interested in?"

About to put more change into the machine, Reiling stopped, Alan's words slowly dawning on him.

"Wait, you can't mean..."

"InGen is in the genetic engineering business. They cloned animals which have been extinct for millions of years." Alan shook his head sadly. "It went so dreadfully wrong," he said softly.

Reiling was stunned. "But how... I...I don't know what to say." How could they have resurrected dinosaurs? It just didn't seem possible with the level of technology available.

"If somebody told me that story, I wouldn't know what to say either. As God is my witness it happened," he said with sudden intensity. He wasn't sure why it was so important that Reiling believe him, he had just met him after all.

Reiling looked into Alan's fierce blue eyes. As fantastic as the story was, somehow he believed him. The man radiated integrity and dignity.

"The kids are Hammond's grandchildren," Alan said.

"That's what I figured. I feel sorry for them; they've obviously been through a lot. It's a good thing you were there."

"We were lucky, that's all."

"Alan, I told my boss I didn't think you were in any shape to be interrogated, but everyone's in crisis mode and they want to see you."

Alan chuckled. "I look that bad?"

"Well, frankly you look like you're about to fall over."

"That's not far off the mark, but I need to get this over with and get home. I've got a skeleton to dig up before winter."

Reiling hated to tell him the bad news. "Alan, I wish the situation was that simple."


	4. Chapter 3

As the men returned, Ellie saw the set expression on Alan's face and she knew whatever Reiling had said had upset him. "Alan?" she asked hesitantly, as he handed her one of the cans he carried.

"Trouble…" With that terse word, Alan sat down; popped the top on another can and gulped down the drink. Damn…damn…damn…, he thought angrily. The Costa Ricans could hold them indefinitely if they wanted to and there was not a damn thing they could do about it. He suspected there wasn't much the US could do either. His anger flared at Hammond, but he knew it was an irrational thought. There was no one to blame but himself for getting them into this mess.

Reiling watched Alan as he sat by the kids. Alan was understandably angry, he would have been mad too. He felt sorry for the man.

Alan finished his drink and set it aside. He leaned forward and propped his elbows on his knees. As he rubbed his eyes, Ellie massaged his shoulder.

"Want to tell me about it?"

Alan took a deep breath and glanced at the children, who were talking to Joe. They had obviously taken a liking to the man. "The short version is we're stuck here for awhile," he said quietly. "It appears we're right in the middle of a catfight between the U.S. and Costa Rica."

"But they can't blame us, we didn't do anything."

"Ellie, the Costa Ricans will be looking for somebody to blame."

"Oh hell…," Ellie said. In the back of her mind, she had been worried about something like this happening.

"Ellie, I'm sorry I got you into this. I was a fool for putting you in danger," he said.

Ellie saw the guilt and remorse in Alan's eyes. "Honey, don't beat yourself up like this," she said sternly. "You had no idea what was going to happen. Besides, I don't remember you forcing me to come; this was my decision as much as it was yours." She caressed his hair. "Remember what you said before; that we will get through this? I still believe that."

God, how he loved and needed this wonderful woman. Tell her now, he thought to himself, tell her that he loved her. It was such a simple thing, those three words, and she deserved to hear them. Go ahead, get on with it, and tell her, his conscious told him.

Ellie sat frozen, staring at Alan. His mouth was half-open, she could tell he wanted to tell her something; could it be the words she so wanted to hear? She knew in her heart, and she could see it in his eyes that he loved her, but she needed to hear it from him.

"Señor Grant?" A voice called out in the waiting room.

Ellie saw his jaw abruptly shut. Alan continued to look at Ellie for a few seconds, and then he broke eye contact. Ellie's heart sank with disappointment.

He started to stand up and his back seized up again, he hissed softly with the sudden twinge. Ellie observed his discomfort and she stood up to help him, her previous thoughts forgotten.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"My back's a little stiff. I'm fine."

Ellie was skeptical but she didn't say anything; by his expression, she knew he was in much worse pain than he would admit to.

"I'm Grant," he said to the nurse.

"Good afternoon Señor, the doctor is ready to see you and your family now," she said pleasantly.

Alan had to smile at the word family. Strangely, it did feel like they had become a family. Amazing how things happened he thought. "Be back in a bit," he told Reiling.

"I'll be here." Reiling picked up a magazine and began to read.

The nurse led them to an examining room. "Please wait in here..."

As Ellie and the children entered the room, Alan realized he needed to tell the doctor that Tim had quit breathing. Lex knew of course, but he felt Tim didn't need to know that. "Nurse, can I have a word with you?"

"Of, course…"

"Ellie, I'll be there in a minute"

"Okay," Ellie said. She wondered what was so important that Alan had to speak with the nurse.

"What can I do for you, Señor Grant?"

"Uh…can you tell the doctor something for me? An electric fence electrocuted Tim, this morning, and he quit breathing. After I gave him CPR, he started to breathe again. I don't want him to know about that part; he's had enough scary things happen to him this weekend. I'd appreciate it if you could let the doctor know about what happened."

She touched his arm in a reassuring manner. "I understand completely. I'll be sure to let the doctor know. He'll be in to see you in a few minutes."

"Thanks a lot." He opened the door and entered the room.

Tim had climbed up on the examining table; the others had found seats. They had more of those blasted plastic chairs, he noted. He had to admit his back was really bothering him now. He gingerly sat down, silently cursing whoever had invented the bloody stuff.

Ellie frowned at him. "Just how stiff is your back?"

"Pretty stiff," he reluctantly admitted. "I'm too old to do stuff like this."

Tim grinned. "Me too…"

Everyone shared a laugh. Just then, the door opened and a middle-aged man entered. "Good afternoon, Señor Grant, Señora Sattler, my name is Dr. Luenga. He looked at a chart. "You had a boating accident, I see."

Alan glanced at Ellie and they met each other's eyes. "Yes, we had an accident and got stuck on one of the islands for a few hours," she said.

"Regretfully, that happens more than I like to see." He looked at Tim. "You must be Tim. I understand you had an argument with an electric fence," he said, glancing in Alan's direction.

The nurse must have told him, he realized. Bless her heart, he thought in gratitude.

Ellie saw the look the doctor gave Alan. They did not keep secrets from each other, and so she wondered what the mystery was.

"Yeah, and the fence won," Tim said, grumbling a bit.

The doctor chuckled. He had a gentle manner about him, Alan noted, and he quickly put Tim at ease. "Well, you don't look too bad. Let's look at your hands. These are interesting bandages." He carefully removed the torn bandana pieces from Tim's hands.

"I had to improvise," Alan said with a shrug.

"Ah, I see. Well, the burns don't look too bad, fortunately. Mostly first degree burns. How much electricity was in the fence?"

"About 10,000 volts…" Alan said flatly.

Luenga's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I would say you are a very lucky young man, then. These can be easily treated with topical antibiotics and a dressing."

He took out a stethoscope and began to listen to Tim's heart. He listened thoroughly to Tim's heart for a few minutes and removed the earpieces.

"Tim, have you had any dizziness since the accident?"

"A little bit right after it happened, but not since then."

"Okay, good. Let's test your reflexes."

As the doctor treated Tim, Alan's thoughts drifted away back to that moment in the waiting room, where time had seemed to stand still. _You are a coward_; _that woman loves you more than life itself, and you can't even tell her you love her._ It was true he was terrified. He had lost the only other woman he had ever loved, along with their unborn child. Emotionally it had almost destroyed him. He did not think he would survive if he lost Ellie.

"Tim, do you know when you last had a tetanus shot?"

Tim thought for a moment. "I got a bunch of shots when I started school, but I don't know what they were. Lex, do you know?"

"I got some too, but I don't know what they were," Lex said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Normally you get them before you go into first grade, but just to be on the safe side, we'll give you a booster shot."

"Oh great…" Tim murmured.

Ellie wondered how he knew about schools in the states. "Doctor, are you from the States."

"No, not originally; I went to medical school at UCLA and I did my internship and residency in Chicago."

"Very impressive, Doctor," Ellie said.

"Thank you, Señora Sattler," he said with a smile. "Well, Tim, your heart and reflexes are fine; it looks like you haven't suffered any permanent injuries. Your hands should be healed in a day or too." He paused to write on the chart. "I'm going to have the nurse put a clean dressing on your hands when I finish with everyone else. Okay, who wants to be next?"

"I'll go next," Lex said. She and Tim traded places on the examining table.

"Okay, Lex, do you have any specific pain locations?" he asked the girl.

"No, I'm just kind of sore all over."

"I see. Let me check these abrasions," he said, looking closely at a scratch on her face. "This just needs some antiseptic and then a bit of antibiotic ointment, and you'll be as good as new in a couple of days." The doctor reached for an antiseptic. "This may sting for a minute."

Lex winced but didn't say anything as the doctor treated several scratches.

"Lex, we'd better give you a booster as well," he said writing on the file.

"Wonderful," she sighed.

After he finished he stepped back "Okay, Lex, that takes care of you. Who's next?"

Alan sat there and didn't say anything. Ellie sighed. "My turn…" She changed places with Lex. "This is the worst one," pointing to the bruise on her thigh. She had gotten it when she had slammed her leg against the tree. It was painful but not serious, she thought.

"Are you having any problems putting any weight on it?"

"No, it's just a little stiff and sore."

"You have a pretty deep contusion there. I suggest you put some heat on it tonight, and take some aspirin if you need to. That goes for everyone by the way. That should help with any aches and pains you have. When was your last tetanus booster?"

"It was about five years ago."

"That's good, you don't need one then."

"Doctor, I normally wear contacts and glasses for close up vision, but other than the pair of contacts I have on, I lost everything else in the accident. I don't think we're going to be here long enough to get glasses, but I could use some extra contacts."

"I think we can help with that. Do you have your prescription?"

She pulled out her wallet. Luckily, she had put her prescription in there before she left. "I have it," she said as she handed him the paper.

"Excellent. I will have our Ophthalmology department fill these."

"Thank you so much."

He looked at Alan with a grin on his face. "Your turn, Señor Grant…"

"Okay…okay…" Alan grumbled, as he sat down on the examining table.

"Let's start with this," looking at the scratch on his cheek. "I'm going to put some antiseptic on it. This may sting."

"Señor, when was the last time you received a tetanus booster?"

"Uh…It was three years ago." He remembered he had gotten one before an expedition.

"Good, so it looks like we just have to give Lex and Tim a booster then."

"Dr. Grant, I'd like you to take off your shirt."

"Why?" Alan said suspiciously.

"You have been in an accident and you are having back pain," he said patiently. "I need to see if you have any bruises."

_He walks three miles on a broken leg, and yet he acts like a baby, _Ellie thought, smothering a smile.

Alan muttered under his breath, and reluctantly unbuttoned his shirt.

Ellie instinctively winced when she saw Alan's back; he had a good-sized bruise on his lower back. She couldn't believe he had been carrying Tim around all that time.

"I can see why you were in pain. You have a large bruise on your back." He did not touch what must have been a painful area.

"Is the pain localized or spread out?"

"It's spread out."

"Let's do some tests. Do you have pain when you turn side to side?"

Alan twisted back and forth. He didn't feel much pain.

"No, not much..."

"When you lean forward?

"No, it's the same."

"So it's just when you stand up?"

"When I stand up and sit down."

The doctor wrote some notes on a sheet. "Señor Grant, I would suggest we take some x-rays of your spine. You may have done some damage to a vertebra."

Alan's expression hardened. "Doctor, that won't be necessary. I'm sure it's just a bruise. If it doesn't get better, I'll call you."

Ellie shook her head in exasperation at his stubbornness. The doctor looked at her and shrugged. He could not force Alan to get x-rays.

"Okay, Señor Grant, please do call me if you continue to have pain. You will want to apply heat to your back, and if you have a Jacuzzi tub that would help a lot with the pain, too. In addition I'm going to write you a prescription for some muscle relaxants."

"Okay, it looks like everyone is going to survive. I'm going to have the nurse prepare the tetanus boosters and get Tim's hands bandaged. I'm also going to send a box of dressings which will need to be changed once a day."

"Can I go swimming?" Tim asked.

"Not for a couple of days. If there's no pain or infection you should be able to swim in two or three days."

"Oh man…" Tim said sadly.

"It's just for a couple of days Tim," Ellie said.

He held up Ellie's paper. "I'll have this filled also. The nurse will be here in a minute with the booster shots."

"Thanks for everything Doctor," Ellie said.

"It was my pleasure. Despite what's happened, I hope you enjoy your stay in Costa Rica."

Ellie came over and stood by Alan. "We _will _call the doctor if your back doesn't get better, right?" Alan raised his hand in surrender; he knew he was beaten. "Good," Ellie said with a smile.

----

Angel LeeAnn-Poor Alan's not a happy camper. Thanks for reading!

Erisinia Gazelle-Thanks so much for the suggestion about the unsigned reviews, I didn't realize it was set like that. Thanks!


	5. Chapter 4

Sorry for the delay in posting this chapter. I should be posting more frequently in the future. Thanks for all the reviews; they're much appreciated.

* * *

As they exited the tenth floor elevator of the Ministry building, a distinguished gray haired man advanced towards them. "Dr. Grant, Dr. Sattler, I'm Ambassador Edward Pauley."

Alan nodded. "Ambassador…"

Pauley gazed intently at Reiling. "Glad you could make it, Mr. Reiling."

"Yes, sir." He was probably in some trouble for their hospital detour, but he could deal with it.

Pauley returned his attention to the others. "I'm sorry we have to haul you down here like this; unfortunately the situation demands it."

Alan shrugged but said nothing. He just wanted to get the questioning over with and get out of there.

Pauley noted in spite of his exhaustion, the man seemed wary and guarded. He knew he would have felt the same way.

"Dr. Grant, I'll stay with Lex and Tim."

"Thanks Joe," Alan said. There was no reason the children had to relive what they had witnessed.

"Guys, let's go wait over there," Reiling said as he walked over to a group of chairs. The kids followed him, plopped on a couch, and looked around, curious about what was going to happen next.

Out of courtesy, Pauley stepped over to the children. Briefed beforehand by Ellington, he knew their relationship to John Hammond. "Hello, I'm Edward Pauley."

"Hi," Lex said, uncertain of the man's intentions.

Alan noted her apprehension. "Its okay, Lex, Ambassador Pauley is here to help us." He said this to reassure Lex and Tim; Reiling's warning at the hospital had left him less than optimistic about any help they might receive.

"Dr. Grant is right, Lex, I'm going to do everything I can. This is never an easy thing to say, but I'm sorry for the loss of your grandfather. Our Embassy has spoken with your mother, and she's anxious to talk to you."

"Okay," Lex said with more confidence.

Poor kids, Ellie thought. She felt dislocated by the situation they found themselves trapped in, she knew it had to be even more frightening for Lex and Tim.

"Ambassador, I don't think these people have eaten today," Reiling said.

Ellie could not recall her last meal, and then she remembered the lunch Hammond had served after the Raptor feeding. Lacking any appetite, she had barely touched her food. She was famished, and she knew the others would be too.

"It's been a while, yesterday in fact," Alan said. Until Reiling had spoken, he had not realized just how long it had been.

"That won't do at all," Pauley said. "I'll see to it that you get something to eat, it's the least we can do for you. If you and Dr. Sattler will please follow me, we'll get started."

Ellie flashed a quick smile to Reiling and the others. "We'll be back later."

Pauley opened a door, which led into a richly furnished office. A middle-aged man rose from behind the desk.

"Ah, there you are," he said, with a smile. "I am Assistant Interior Minister Olvera. Under normal circumstances I would welcome you to Costa Rica, but I'm afraid these are not normal times."

Normal no longer had a meaning to him. "Alan Grant…" he said, shaking Olvera's hand.

"And you must be Dr. Sattler."

"Right," she said.

"Please have a seat. I apologize for the misunderstanding at the airport. The officer showed a lack of appreciation about your situation."

"It's forgotten," Alan said as he and the others sat down across from Olvera.

"You have experienced a very traumatic event, and I regret we have to have this conversation before you have been given a chance to rest," Olvera said.

Alan wondered why people were dragging them all over the place and then apologizing for that very thing. It was absurd, he thought.

"Before we start, may I get you some refreshments, perhaps some coffee?" Olvera asked.

"I would love some, with cream, no sugar," Ellie said.

"Dr. Grant?"

Alan nodded slightly. "I'd like it black." The caffeine and sugar lift he had received from the Coke had worn off, leaving him sluggish and fuzzy headed.

"Ambassador, can I get you a cup?"

"I'm fine thank you. I do have a request to make," Pauley said.

"Of course, Ambassador, what can I do for you?"

"It's been brought to my attention that these people haven't eaten in a while. Do you think we might get them something?"

"Oh yes, of course. I'll have it sent up right away." He picked up the phone and spoke briefly in Spanish, then ended the call. "The food will be here shortly. Let me get that coffee for you. Our coffee is world famous, you know," Olvera said as he poured two cups of coffee for them.

Ellie watched Alan's jaw clench. He hated small talk in situations like this, preferring to get right down to business. She reached out and lightly touched his arm, hoping to calm him.

Understanding her gesture, Alan looked at Ellie, took a deep breath, and nodded. He had to keep his composure.

Olvera handed their coffee to them; Alan found it delicious. To his relief, Olvera sat down behind his desk; finally ready to get started.

Pauley removed a ballpoint pen from his jacket pocket and picked up a yellow pad; Olvera did the same. For some reason, fatigue maybe; the sight of the two high-powered bureaucrats using a yellow pad to take notes amused Alan.

"Dr. Grant, Dr. Sattler, our two countries are in an awkward position," Olvera said. "An American company owned by John Hammond has misled our country. As a result, we have suffered a major ecological disaster; even worse many people have died. In addition, I have been told a story that I frankly have a hard time believing."

"Mr. Olvera, lions and tigers didn't kill those people," Alan said curtly.

"But the story is so fantastical."

Alan recalled the sense of wonder and awe he had felt when he first beheld the Brachiosaur; his life's work had come to life before his eyes. "Jurassic Park _was_ fantastic," he said, "until the inhabitants began to hunt us down."

"Alan and I came as visitors," Ellie said. "Gennaro and Muldoon work there. Why don't you ask them what happened?"

"Señor Muldoon has been very cooperative; in fact he is the one who has given us most of the information we know," Olvera said. "Señor Gennaro has been…difficult to deal with."

"Give me ten minutes with him; he won't be so difficult after that."

Pauley smothered a smile at Alan's words. Without exception, everyone who had interacted with Gennaro had expressed his dislike of the man.

"I don't think that will be necessary," Olvera said with a smile.

Alan did not smile back. "So it falls on us…"

"Dr. Grant, we aren't accusing you of anything. We are simply trying to determine what happened on Isla Nublar. You and Dr. Sattler have valuable information which will help us piece together the events that led to this catastrophe."

"What happened was a perversity of science, nothing more, nothing less."

Olvera nodded his understanding. "I'd like to get a little background information from you. Can you please tell us how you became involved with John Hammond and InGen?"

"Gennaro called one day and told me he represented InGen. They were building some kind of a children's museum. They were going to have a dinosaur exhibit of some kind, and they wanted to hire me as a consultant. He mentioned they had hired Malcolm and a system's analyst." He paused to take a drink of his coffee.

"I'd never heard of them, but Gennaro seemed to know a lot about me. You see, a couple of years before we had found the first dinosaur eggs in the western hemisphere. Somehow, he knew that we hadn't published anything yet, and he offered me $50,000 to give them what information we possessed. It seemed harmless enough, and I couldn't turn down that much money, so I agreed to send him a summary of what we knew."

"Did he mention anything about Isla Nublar?" Pauley asked.

"No… Just that they intended on building a museum. This is strange, but right before Hammond showed up, I discussed this with a guy from the EPA by the name of Bob Morris. He was from the San Francisco office." Alan shrugged. "I'd forgotten all about it. He said they were conducting some kind of an investigation, but they hadn't found much."

Pauley wrote the name down. "I'll have someone talk to him."

At that moment, Alan heard a soft rap at the door. "Venido adentro," Olvera called out. The door opened and two attendants quietly entered, one man carrying a tray with a number of half sandwiches; cheese slices, and fruit. The second attendant carried another tray with several plates, a pitcher of water and water glasses.

Ellie placed two of the sandwich halves and some of the cheese and fruit on a plate, and filled a glass of water. "I'm going to check on the kids," she said, looking at Olvera.

"Of course, Dr. Sattler," Olvera said.

Carrying her plate and glass of water, Ellie went into the reception area, where she discovered a second plate of food sitting on the table in front of the couch, as well as another pitcher of ice water. Tim and Lex had already filled their plates. "I see you guys have been taken care of."

"Oh yeah, this is great!" Tim exclaimed, his plate laden with food

"Yum… Cucumbers," said Lex, as she bit down on one of the sandwiches.

Ellie took a seat in one of the empty chairs. "Cucumbers?" she asked. It seemed a strange choice for Lex.

Lex swallowed the bite before speaking. "I'm a vegetarian."

That would complicate meals, Ellie thought, as she took a drink of water. Oh well, they would deal with it for however long they had the children with them. "Really? That's interesting." She began to eat one of her sandwiches.

"I must have been hungrier than I thought," Tim said, polishing off his second sandwich.

"Me too," Lex said."

"Eat as much as you want," Reiling said. Not having had a chance to eat lunch, he had taken a sandwich for himself. "What's going on in there?"

"They're getting Alan's life story."

Reiling shook his head in dismay. "Unbelievable…"

"Tell me about it," she muttered. Ellie quickly finished her meal. "Well, I'd better get back in there. I'm sure they're eager to get started."

"Let me know if you need anything."

Ellie nodded and smiled at Reiling. "I will."

Alan had not realized how hungry he was until he began to eat, and then it was all he could do not to wolf down the sandwiches. Along with some cheese and fruit, he dispatched two of the sandwich halves and resisted the urge to take another.

"The kids okay?" Alan asked, as Ellie came back into the room.

"They're eating the bottom out of their plates," she said with a laugh. She decided to tell Alan about Lex's vegetarian diet later.

"Good…" he said.

"I trust you found everything acceptable," Olvera said.

"More than acceptable, thank you," Ellie said.

Olvera checked his notes. "Very well… Oh yes, the paper you wrote for InGen; what was the subject?

"The feeding and nesting habits of juvenile dinosaurs; hadrosaurs to be exact."

Both men looked up quickly. "Dr. Grant, could you please spell hadrosaur?" asked Pauley. He pronounced the unfamiliar word slowly.

"H-a-d-r-o-s-a-u-r…"

"Oh, I see. Thank you," Pauley said.

Pauley obviously had no idea what he was referring to; a frequent reaction people had. Most people only recognized the names of the most well known of the dinosaurs.

"Gennaro started calling with questions at all times of the day and night, the calls drove my wife and I crazy. We got tired of it and I cut them a deal for $12,000 if they'd leave us alone. That was the last contact I had with InGen."

"Until last week?"

Alan nodded. "Right…"

For a moment, Ellie unaccountably felt jealous of Alan's deceased wife and the life they once shared. He had refused to speak of her, other than she had died suddenly. She knew she had no reason to be jealous. Utterly in love with the man, she sensed his love in return, but his refusal to express his feelings sometimes left her insecure about their future. She supposed this lack of confidence gave rise to jealousy.

"And what year was this?"

"It was in the spring of 1984." It had not occurred to him while he was talking to Morris, but he had received the check just two weeks before Amanda had died. He remembered very little from that time. The sudden loss of the woman who had been his mate, best friend, and research partner had left him in a grief stricken fog. For months, he felt no enthusiasm for Paleontology or anything else in his life.

Alan had just begun to emerge from this state when Ellie had come to the university first as a doctoral student, later as his research and teaching assistant. For a number of reasons, they had not begun a romantic affair until after she had received her doctorate, but from the very beginning, there had been a spark between them. Her friendship, passion, and enthusiasm for their research had rekindled long dormant feelings both professionally and personally within him. Once again he began to enjoy, and then relish his work and his life.

Ellie had given him an even more important gift. She had showed him he could love again; something he had thought impossible after his wife's death. He owed so much to this woman, more than he could ever begin to repay.

"When did Hammond began to give you funding?" Pauley asked

"The next year…" Would this ever end, he wondered; exasperated by the two men's questioning. Between the two of them, he felt like a ping-pong ball. His head was pounding, and his back was tightening up again. There seemed to be no end to their questions, and they had not even talked about what had happened on the island yet.

"Did you have any reason to suspect there was a connection between Hammond and InGen?" Olvera asked

Alan shook his head. "None; he never mentioned InGen. I found out when Morris told me. I was surprised to say the least."

"Had you met Hammond before this weekend?" Pauley asked.

"Not face to face. I'd talked with him a few times on the phone."

"And he just showed up?" Pauley asked.

"The damn helicopter landed right in the middle of our camp and almost ruined a skeleton we were excavating. He made himself at home in our lab and told us about the park, then invited us to check it out. In return he'd fund us for three more years." At the time it had seemed like such a lark, he thought bitterly.

"Did he tell you what kind of park they had built?"

"He called it a…" he glanced at Ellie. "A biological preserve?"

"That's the term he used. He wouldn't be more specific." Ellie was growing more aggravated by the minute by the two officials. Did they not have a shred of compassion for Alan? He did not look well at all, she thought. His face was gray, weariness etched his face; she knew from the way he was sitting his back was hurting him. But the questions just kept coming.

"Did you mention Morris to Hammond?" Olvera asked.

"No, I didn't. If there was an investigation going on, I didn't see it was my place to mention it."

"I see… What was your impression of Hammond?"

Alan shifted in the chair, trying and failing to find a more comfortable position. "He always seemed like an overgrown rich kid who loved dinosaurs."

"I'm not too familiar with your profession, but it sounds like this funding is important to your work," Pauley said.

"We're almost totally dependent on outside funding; nothing much happens without it." The check for the trip had gone unwritten; Alan realized they would be in a bind without Hammond's backing. If he did not find another endowment, he would have to shift money from another fund, which might mean cuts in staff or equipment elsewhere. Although the university paid the salaries and benefits of the faculty, as well as a few of the preparatory staff, endowments funded virtually every piece of equipment and additional personnel they had. It was one more thing he had to worry about. Olvera's words brought him back to the present.

"Doctor, I would like to talk about what happened on the island yesterday," Olvera said.

Alan's stomach tightened. He did not want to think about, much less talk about what had happened.

Ellie observed his manner become tense and uneasy, and she clasped his hand, hoping to help him with what would be an unpleasant task.

He looked deeply into her eyes for a moment, grateful for the support. He took a deep breath and began to speak. "We had been taking a tour of the park and we found a sick Trike—"

"I'm sorry, a…Trike?" Pauley asked.

"Sorry… A Triceratops; three horned, about the size of an elephant."

"I think I've heard of that one," Pauley said with a smile.

Alan nodded and continued. "Ellie decided to stay with the vet while he treated her, and we started back to the compound because a storm was approaching."

"Muldoon told us they used electrified Explorers for the tours," Pauley said.

"Yeah, the ironic thing is if we'd been in gas powered cars we would have all made it back to the compound safely." But would they have made off the island alive, he wondered, Hammond had not survived.

"The children were in a car with Ed Regis, the head public relations guy; Malcolm and I were following in another." The two men wrote the name down.

"The storm caused the cars to lose power at the T-Rex paddock, we didn't know it then, but the storm had knocked out the power on the fences as well—"

"The storm didn't knock the power out," Ellie said.

Alan looked at her in surprise. "What?"

"Alan, the system's analyst, Nedry, sabotaged the computer system."

"Oh God…" Alan said, incredulous. "All those people, Malcolm, Regis, Hammond… Why…why did he do it?"

Muldoon had told them about Nedry, but Pauley realized Grant must have been unaware of this.

"He shut the power off and took one of the gas jeeps," she said. "He disappeared."

"Señor Muldoon thought he attempted to make it to a boat that was leaving for the mainland," Olvera said. "He had no idea why Nedry would do such a terrible thing."

Alan's anger surged at the thought of such a criminal, irresponsible act, and forgetting about his back, he shot to his feet. He grabbed the end of Olvera's desk as a white-hot streak of pain coursed through his back.

Pauley watched the man's face drain of color, in severe pain. Both he and Olvera got to their feet to assist him, but Ellie reached him first.

Alarmed, Ellie put her arm around his waist to support him. "Honey?"

Eyes closed tightly against the pain, and barely able to breathe, he could not speak.

"Dr. Grant, let's go and sit down," Pauley said, gesturing at a nearby couch.

Alan opened his eyes and nodded. Ellie and Pauley helped him over to the couch. "Alan, lay down," Ellie said.

In too much pain to argue, Alan gingerly stretched out. The prone position allowed his back muscles to relax somewhat; at least he could breathe again.

"Better?" Ellie asked as she took his hand.

"A little… Let me stay here for a minute."

Jaw clenched and her posture stiff, Ellie stood up. "Can I speak to you two in private?"

"Of course Doctor," Olvera said. "We can speak outside."

She bent down and caressed his cheek. "Try to rest…" she said.

Alan smiled at her fierce expression. "Don't hurt them too badly."

"No more than they deserve." She gave his hand a squeeze.

"Mr. Reiling, how long are they going to be in there?" Tim asked.

Reiling checked his watch; it had been about thirty minutes. "I don't know Tim; hopefully they'll be done pretty soon." With food in their stomachs, the kids seemed about ready to crash out. Dozing, the two slouched on the couch, eyes closed.

The door opened suddenly; instantly alert, the children jumped off the couch and stood, ready to leave. Ellie, Olvera, and Pauley filed out, Reiling noted Ellie looked furious.

Reiling shrugged at the children.

"Oh well…" Tim dropped down on the couch and sighed.

"We can talk here," Olvera said as he opened a door and held it for the others.

Ellie's fury had grown with each step she took. All of the pent up anger, frustration and fear she had been holding back boiled over in one instant. "This has gone far enough."

Pauley raised his hands in a defensive gesture. "Dr. Sattler, neither I nor Minister Olvera knew of Dr. Grant's injury. We were only told young Tim had been injured."

"Would it have mattered?"

Neither man said anything.

"I thought so…," she said. "Look, I could care less about political situations, or anything bureaucrats do to occupy their time. The only thing I care about is that man in there who is in terrible pain, and those two innocent children." The words came faster and faster. "You have no idea of the horror we witnessed and endured, nor do I think you care. All you care about are your stupid questions; you never stop and think about the person having to relive those memories. It's sickening…" Her voice broke and she willed herself not to cry.

Aware he had just been dressed down; Pauley cleared his throat in embarrassment. "You are right, Dr. Sattler, every word. I'm sorry; I lost sight of what's important here. Minister Olvera, I think we should call it a day and let these people get some rest."

Olvera reluctantly nodded in agreement. "As you wish…" He opened the door and they began to walk back to his office.

Ellie had to fight a sudden urge to laugh; to think she had just yelled at an ambassador of her country. She wondered what her parents would think if they had known. Knowing them, after an initial shock, they probably would have laughed their heads off.

As they walked down the hall, Ellie glanced at Reiling and shook her head. She considered him their only ally.

Pauley motioned to Reiling. "Kids, you can go in; Mr. Reiling can I talk to you for a minute?"

Reiling stood beside Pauley. "Yes, sir?" The ambassador looked irritated; Reiling wondered what was going on.

"Did you know Grant has a back injury?"

Reiling shrugged his shoulders. "He had some soreness, but he didn't say anything specific."

"He all but collapsed a few minutes ago."

Reiling's eyes went wide in surprise. "Sir, if I had known he was that badly hurt, I would have told you immediately." Reiling paused and then continued, angered by the scientist's treatment. "I don't think it would have mattered; everyone seems to have had their own agenda." He figured that would get him into more trouble, to his surprise, Pauley chuckled.

"That's pretty much what Dr. Sattler just told me. She really read us the riot act," Pauley said. "I got the message loud and clear."

"I'm not surprised. They're pretty protective of each other."

"You like them, don't you."

"Yes, sir, very much so."

Pauley did not know Reiling well, but Greg Ellington had spoken very highly of him. Ellington had told him that Reiling would someday make a fine diplomat.

"It's Joe, right?

"Yes, sir…"

"Joe, don't ever lose your humanity. Dr. Sattler reminded me of that a few minutes ago, to my chagrin."

"Yes, sir, I'll remember that." Ellie must have really got to him, Reiling thought. Good for her, everyone needed their egos tweaked occasionally, even ambassadors.

"Let's get these people out of here."

"Yes, sir."

Alan carefully sat up when the others came into the room; Tim carried the bag of items they had received from the doctor.

The kids spotted Alan and rushed to his side.

"Alan, are you okay?" Tim asked.

"Yeah, my back flared up on me." He smiled at them. "I just needed to lie down for a minute. I'll be fine."

Ellie sat down beside Alan. Although still in pain, she thought he looked better, at least he was not as pale as he had been.

Olvera was on the phone, Pauley was not back yet. Alan wondered what had happened to him. "You didn't deck Pauley, did you?"

"No, but I was tempted to," Ellie said with a smile.

Alan laughed shortly. Although possessing a kind nature, Ellie did have a formidable temper when provoked.

"Ellie, I'm tired." Lex said.

"I know Lex, I am too. Hopefully we'll get to the hotel pretty soon," Ellie said.

Alan had not thought of hotel accommodations. He had spent too many nights outdoors in primitive conditions to be fussy about hotels. His only requirements were a clean room, plumbing that worked, and a comfortable bed.

Olvera ended his phone conversation and hung up. "Dr. Grant, my assistant is making arrangements for your hotel rooms. You will be staying at the same hotel as the others; I think it will be quite satisfactory for your needs."

Alan watched Olvera as he went about his business; the man had definitely changed his attitude. He did not know what Ellie had told them but she must have shook things up. He looked at her with raised eyebrows. In return, she batted her eyelashes at him, giving him her best innocent look.

Pauley and Reiling came into the room. "Dr. Grant, I want to apologize for my earlier behavior," Pauley said, coming to stand near them. "As I have just been reminded, there are more important things than politics."

Alan waved him off; he just wanted to get out of there. "What happens now?"

"I think the first order of business is to get you all some new clothes." Pauley noted that the two scientists, taller than most Costa Ricans, might have trouble fitting into Costa Rican made clothes. Pauley glanced at Reiling; tall and muscular, he no doubt had a similar problem. "Mr. Reiling, I think our two friends might have a hard time with native brands of clothes. Do you know a good place to buy American brands?"

"Yes sir, I do. We can go to the store I go to; I can't seem to get fitted right anywhere else. They're open on Sundays, too."

Alan could see why it would be hard for him to shop. Taller than he, with a brawny neck and chest, Reiling had a linebacker's build.

"Do they have kid's clothes?" Tim asked hopefully.

"They sure do. All the latest styles too."

"Excellent," Lex said.

"Do we have enough time to shop?" Ellie asked.

Reiling took a quick look at his watch. "I think we can make it. They stay open until seven."

"Okay good… How close is the hotel to the store?"

Reiling looked at Olvera. "Minister Olvera, what's the name of the hotel?" Reiling asked.

"The hotel's name is the Apartotel El Sesteo."

"Oh good… It's near the Embassy, and the store's just a few minutes away from the hotel."

Ellie nodded. Perfect, she thought. She was determined to get Alan off his feet as soon as possible. "Alan, if you want we can drop you off at the hotel and I can shop for you. I know how much you like to shop," she said with a teasing smile. Alan disliked shopping for clothes so Ellie usually did it for him. She found Alan easy to shop for—jeans or khakis; flannel or work shirts and the occasional t-shirt always worked for him.

"Do you mind?" The truth was he did not know how much longer he could stay on his feet.

"Of course not… Why don't you take one of those pills the doctor gave you and lie down?"

Alan frowned; those things knocked him right out. "I'm going to have to make some phone calls; if I take one of those I'll be useless."

Ellie gave him a hard look. She knew he did not like to take medication.

"I'll take it before bed, I promise," he said

"Okay." She intended on holding him to that.

Their hotel and clothes problem taken care of, the biggest worry they had was a lack of cash. Reiling had said things were inexpensive; it seemed to be the truth. Their clinic bill had only been about $60 US. Mentally running through his options he knew he could get a cash advance on a credit card but he cringed at the thought of the interest they would charge.

"There's one other thing, we don't have any Costa Rican currency," Alan said. "We have credit cards but I need to get some cash. Joe kindly bought us Cokes at the hospital," Alan grinned at Reiling, "but I think we'd like some money for ourselves. Charity's nice but it's not for me."

"Well, you can use credit cards to purchase currency at a Thomas Cook, or use Western Union." Pauley said.

"I bet you need passports to do that." He had a feeling he knew what the answer would be.

"Yes, you do…"

Alan looked up at the ceiling; for a few moments he wanted to hit something. "Hammond told us we wouldn't need our passports."

"That's unfortunate. The next fastest way would be through the State Department."

They both looked sharply at Pauley. "What do we have to do?" Ellie asked.

"All you have to do is fill out some paperwork and set up a trust fund at the Consulate," Pauley said. "A friend or relative wires money to the trust fund, then you can withdraw funds from the accounts, which are issued in Colons. Normally it takes two days maximum to set it up. In the meantime, I think we can afford to make you a personal loan."

"I'll take care of it, Ambassador," Reiling said.

"Good deal."

_Grant, you're losing it_, he thought. _Forget about your personal checking account._ Ben, his crew chief, had access to the account he used for the digs. He could wire money and Alan would replace it once they got back home. He looked at Ellie, hope surging. "We can get Ben to withdraw some money from the field account." They would use credit cards for the clothes; he figured $300 cash would cover whatever else they would need.

"That's right! I can get my mother to loan me some too," Ellie said.

"Okay, good," Alan said. He felt an enormous sense of relief; at least they'd be able to pay for expenses while they were there.

"Well, unless you have any other questions, I'll let you folks hit the road," Pauley said.

"At the moment, I can't think of anything," Alan said. "Ellie?"

Ellie shook her head. "I'm good."

Alan carefully stood and shook Pauley's hand.

"You're in good hands with Mr. Reiling, but I'll be talking to you later, Dr. Grant."

"Good evening everyone. Minister, I'll be in touch," Pauley said.

"Good evening, Ambassador," Olvera said.

Pauley nodded and left the room.

"Minister, is there anything else?" Reiling asked.

"I think we are finished here. Dr. Grant. Rest tomorrow, we will talk in two days," Olvera said.

Two days, Alan thought. He would have much rather come back tomorrow and finish up.

"Have a good evening," Olvera said.

'Thank you," Ellie said. Her mind turning ahead to the shopping trip, she knew they would have to buy clothes for at least two days, but to be on the safe side, she might buy enough for three. She had a hard time believing they would keep the children any longer.

"Can we go now?" Tim asked impatiently.

"We sure can," Ellie said.


	6. Chapter 5

"Dr. Grant, Dr. Sattler, welcome to the Apartotel El Sesteo. I'm Christopher McTeer, general manager of the hotel. The government representative we spoke to told us about your boating accident and advised us they would be taking care of all charges."

As they stood at the front desk, Alan and Ellie exchanged glances, amused that the government had come up with the same story they had. The Costa Ricans obviously wanted to keep the true nature of the accident a secret.

"I understand you and Dr. Sattler have two children with you," McTeer said. "As we have apartment style suites, I thought a two bedroom unit would be appropriate for your group."

"That'll be fine," Alan said, as he filled out the registration.

Better than fine, Ellie thought. It would be perfect, and with a little luck, it would have some kind of a kitchen for meal preparation.

"Do you have any luggage?"

Alan shook his head. "We lost everything. After we get checked in, Dr. Sattler and the children will be on their way to get us some new clothes."

"You certainly look like you've been through an ordeal."

"We're alive, that's all that counts," he said.

"Absolutely…We have a Mini-Mart onsite, which should have any personal items you might need."

"That's great," Alan said.

Ellie looked at her watch. "Alan, its five fifteen now; why don't you go ahead and get what you need. It's going to take us a while to shop, so we'll stop by the store when we get back."

"Okay…" Alan said.

"The store is closing in a few minutes, but when you return, let Tomas know," McTeer said, referring to the front desk clerk who stood next to him. "Under these extenuating circumstances, I'll be glad to open it up for you again."

"Thanks, I appreciate that," she said.

"Weekdays we have complimentary breakfast from six to nine-thirty, and on weekends from seven to ten. We also have room service until ten in the evening."

Alan guessed everyone would be hungry later. "We might take advantage of that tonight."

"Excellent. If you need anything at all don't hesitate to ask, the staff all speak English."

"Okay, thanks," Alan said.

"Have a good evening," McTeer said, then turned and walked into an office behind the reception desk.

Tomas handed him two room keys and pointed to his left. "Dr. Grant, you will be in suite five. It is straight down that hall."

"Thanks." He noted that the Mini-Mart, as McTeer had called it, was next to the front desk.

"My pleasure, Dr. Grant, have a good evening."

Alan nodded at Tomas, and then handed the other key to Ellie. "Here you go."

"Think you can make it to the room, or do you need an escort?" Ellie asked mischievously, hoping to cheer him up.

"I think I can make it, thank you very much," he said as he began to smile.

Alan's smile was what she wanted to see. He had seemed dejected on the way to the hotel.

"You sure you want to pay for the clothes? I can give you one of my credit cards," he said.

Ellie nodded. "I'll take care of it." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "We'll be back in a while. Get some rest, okay?"

"I will… Oh yeah, I'll get the aspirin."

"Good. See you later." Ellie said as she walked out of the hotel. She realized Tim might not be old enough to take adult aspirin. She would have to ask him when she got back to the van.

Alan entered the Mini-Mart and selected the products he normally used: soap, deodorant, shampoo, shaving cream, disposable shavers, toothpaste, and a toothbrush, as well as a medium sized bottle of aspirin. Some were not his usual brands but they would do. There was a small grocery store as well; he figured he and Ellie would check that out tomorrow. He paid the bill by credit card and, toting that sack as well as the one from the hospital, he went in search of their suite.

Following the directions the front desk clerk had given him, Alan located the suite and unlocked the door. As he entered the room, he felt for and clicked the light switch by the door. He let out a low whistle, as he found he was standing in a good-sized living area, with a sofa, two easy chairs, and a television. Out of habit, he reached to take off his hat and remembered with a pang that it was gone. Damn, he missed that hat; he would have to replace it when he got back to Denver.

Beyond the living area, he saw a well-equipped kitchen and dining room set. That would please Ellie, he thought.

First things first, he thought. He placed the sacks on the table and pulled out the bottle of aspirin. He twisted the cap off and dug out the cotton ball; then took two pills out of the bottle.

Leaving the medical supplies and aspirin on the table for the others to find, he continued with his impromptu tour and entered the first bedroom, which had two twin beds, armoire, nightstands, and large closet as well as a full bath. Not bad, he thought.

He walked into the other bedroom, identically furnished, but with a queen bed; it also had a full bath. Alan decided to claim this room, and he entered the bathroom where he placed the items he had bought in the cabinet. He was tempted to take a hot bath right then, but he would have had to put his dirty clothes back on. He decided to brush his teeth at least. After he finished his teeth, he filled a glass with water, and took the two aspirin. He finished off that glass, and then on impulse drank another. Dehydration, he thought. With a wistful look back at the bathtub, he went back into the bedroom.

He wondered what the bed was like; he sat down carefully, mindful of his back. That went well and he gently lay down. The bed felt like sheer heaven, and he decided to rest his eyes for a few minutes…

* * *

Reiling held the door, as Ellie and the others, laden with shopping bags entered the suite. She quickly looked around and as she had hoped, there was a kitchen and dining area. They could cook and eat their meals here rather than having to eat out all the time. 

There was no sign of Alan, but he had obviously been there; the package from the hospital was on the table, as well as a bottle of aspirin. She sat her newly purchased backpack beside the medical supplies. Ellie suspected he would be in one of the bedrooms, and she peeked into one, which she noted had two twin beds. Tim and Lex looked into the other. "Ellie," Lex whispered, "he's in here."

Ellie walked over to the other bedroom and looked in. The lamp was on by the bed and he lay on his back, shoes still on, sound asleep.

"Are you going to wake him up?" Tim asked.

Alan looked so peaceful that she hated to disturb him. "I don't want to, but there are some phone calls he needs to make." She did not want to keep Joe any longer, so she went back to were he waited.

"What do we do with our clothes?" Lex asked.

They would have to figure out the sleeping arrangements before they could put their clothes away. "Well, right now put everything on the table," Ellie said.

"Alan's crashed," Ellie said to Reiling. She wished she could have joined him, but there were things to do.

Reiling had helped them carry their bags and he had placed them on the table with the others. "I'm not surprised… Before I forget, let me give you the address to send the wire. It's a little different from the main Embassy address." He took out a pen and small notebook and began to write, then handed the paper to Ellie. "Here you go. On the other end, they'll just send it like a normal Western Union wire."

"Okay, good."

"Well, I'll be on my way."

Ellie nodded. "Joe, I want to thank you for helping us out. You have been a real life saver."

"No problem… If you need anything just let me know." He took out a business card, and wrote his home number on it. "Tell Alan to give me a call tomorrow when he's ready to come down to the Embassy."

"I will. I don't think it's going to be too terribly early."

"I can't imagine why it would be, you guys need to rest. Well Ellie, I'll talk to you later." He glanced at the children. "Goodnight guys."

"Night, Mr. Reiling," Lex said.

"Bye," Tim added.

Ellie walked with Reiling to the door. "Goodnight Joe." She shut and locked the door behind him. She saw the two children began to investigate the suite, opening doors and cabinets.

Her contacts were killing her; it was a miracle she had been able to keep them in._ I have to get these things out right now,_ she thought. Fortunately, the doctor had included a plastic lens holder, cleaner solution, and moisturizing drops. She had applied some of the moisturizing drops on the way to the hotel. "Guys, I'm going to get these contacts out then I'm going to wake Alan," she said to Lex and Tim.

"Okay," Tim said.

She took her supplies out of the bag and went into the second bathroom. She poured some solution into each eyepiece, then removed her contacts, and placed them into the lens holder. With a sigh of relief, she applied a few more drops into each eye. Afterwards, she went into the bedroom where Alan lay, and sat down on the side of the bed. "Alan, wake up," she said softly, caressing his chest.

"Hmmm," Alan said, and fell into silence.

She brushed the hair off his forehead. "Hey, time to wake up and take a look at your new clothes."

Drowsily, Alan opened his eyes, and smiled into her beautiful face. "Hey," he said.

"Hey yourself…. Have a good nap?"

He cautiously stretched his arms and yawned. "Uh huh... What time is it?"

"Six forty five. We stopped in that little grocery store and picked up some supplies."

"I'm all set up, too. So did you buy out the clothes store?"

Ellie laughed. "I got everybody enough clothes for three days; plus some extra odds and ends."

"Okay, good." Yawning, he sat up, and ran his hand through his hair. As an experiment, he moved back and forth, checking out his back.

"How's your back?" she asked.

"It feels pretty good, actually." Maybe all he needed was to get off his feet for a while; at least he hoped so. Tomorrow would tell the story. Alan shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs. "I can't believe I went to sleep, I was just going to test out the bed, and the next thing I knew you were there." He reached over and took her in his arms. "Hey, come here."

She leaned into the embrace and sighed with pleasure as he caressed her back. For a few moments, safe in each other's embrace, she could forget where and why they were here. She could pretend they were back in Montana or Denver, the horrible events never having taken place. She knew they should go call Lex and Tim's mother, but she relished this private time they were having; the first they'd had in two days. She reached out and stroked his cheek, the stubble scratchy under her fingers. "You need a shave."

"You think so? I was thinking about doing a Miami Vice thing. You know, the Don Johnson three day stubble look."

Ellie laughed. "Oh please, you hate that show." The show was one of her guilty pleasures she had to admit. It was mindless brain candy, but she was sad to hear it had gone off the air that summer. Sometimes it was nice not to have to think.

"I know, but some women think it's sexy," he said, running his hand over his chin. He knew that would get a rise out of her.

"Some women?" she said with narrowed eyes.

Bingo, he thought. "Uh huh…"

"Well, this woman thinks its goofy looking, and it scratches, too."

"Hmm… Since your opinion means more to me than any other, I guess I'll just have to shave then."

Ellie laughed and hugged him again. "My opinion had better matter."

He drew back and looked intently into her eyes. "It does, Ellie, more than you could know."

Ellie found herself blushing under his steady gaze. With one look, he did things to her inside that no other man could. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply; she felt his willing response.

After a few moments, they slowly ended the kiss, aware they were not alone in the suite.

"We'll continue that later," Alan said huskily.

"Definitely. Let me turn on the light, so you can take a look at your new duds," she said as she rose and clicked the light switch.

"Okay…" Alan said.

"We're going to have to buy a suitcase before we go home," she said as she sat down again

"That's what it looks like," he said with a laugh, as he began to pull clothes out of the sacks.

She had bought him a pair of khakis, two pairs of Levi's jeans, two t-shirts, assorted underwear, and socks. She had not found any of the flannel shirts he liked so much to wear, but she had bought him two denim work shirts. She had also bought him a navy blue oxford shirt to wear if they went out somewhere nice, a pair of sweatpants to wear around the suite, and a pair of pajama bottoms.

"How'd I do?" she asked.

"Pretty good…Pretty good." He held up the last item, a pair of swim trunks. He liked them; they were black and gold with white piping. "Hey, good thinking."

She shrugged. "You like to swim, and I thought this place would have a pool. And with luck they'll have a Jacuzzi, like the doctor suggested."

"You got one, didn't you?" he asked hopefully.

"Uh huh… I'll have to model it later."

Alan smiled broadly. "I can't wait for that."

Alan saw her expression turn serious. "Hey, what's the matter?"

"I don't think this will be enough clothes. If we don't get more, we'll be looking for a laundry quick or having to buy more clothes."

Alan nodded. "I think you're right." He exhaled slowly. "Let's have Ben and Sue ship us some of our clothes."

Ellie attempted to shake off her mood. "Joe said for you to call him in the morning when you're ready to go and fill out the paperwork," she said. "I've got the address to send the wire to."

"Good."

Ellie dug into her pocket and pulled out her billfold. "He also loaned us some Costa Rican money until we get set up. He gave me a rundown on what the different denominations mean. According to Joe, one dollar equals about 480 Colons." She handed him some of the bills.

Alan looked the bills over. "Oh, okay."

"Did you see the kitchen?" she asked.

Alan nodded. "It looks like it's got just about everything."

"It does. I'm going to go grocery shopping, tomorrow."

She started to hand him more of the money, but he stopped her. "Keep it for the groceries."

"Okay." She remembered what Lex had told her earlier. "Oh yeah, one other thing I found out—"

"You're just full of information aren't you?" he said, with a grin.

"Well, somebody has to find this stuff out, since you decided to…ahem, test out the bed."

Alan chuckled. "What's the big news?"

"Lex is a vegetarian."

Alan's eyebrows rose. "A vegetarian? Oh boy…That's going to be a new experience. Do you know anything about that?"

"Not a thing. Lex is going to have to walk me through the shopping." As much as she wanted to stay here, they had to get moving. Ellie stood up and held out her hand. "Come on; let's make those phone calls, I'm sure Mrs. Murphy is anxious to talk to her kids," Ellie said. "After that, we can start the shower rotation." She noticed Alan's bedroom had a bath also.

Alan took her hand and slowly stood up, waiting for his back to protest. He was relieved when he only felt slight discomfort. "We need to figure out the sleeping arrangements, too," he said. "Ellie, I don't know if it's a good idea for us to sleep together, being unmarried and all."

Ellie sighed, he was right. Right now though, she did not want to think about that. "One problem at a time," she said with a laugh.

Alan chuckled. "That's about all I can handle at once too. I'll call Ben after we talk to Mrs. Murphy." They were originally supposed to be back in Montana tomorrow, to finish out the season. "You know, Ben's probably going to have to close down the dig."

"I was thinking that earlier. He can handle it."

"I'm not a bit worried about him." Ben Kincannon was one man he could always count on. They had first met while Alan was an assistant professor at Harvard, and Kincannon had been on the preparatory staff. Although of radically different temperaments and personalities, they had found common ground in their passion for both pre-history as well as beer. They had become close friends, and when he had taken the job at the University of Denver, he had brought Ben with him and made him Chief Preparator and field crew chief.

Kincannon had completed his masters in Paleontology, but had not attempted to write his dissertation despite Alan's urging. Hardworking, intelligent, and funny, he was a crucial member of the crew. He had been the first one of them to get a teepee, and his was the one everyone gathered in to drink beer and tell stories after a hard day's work.

As they walked towards the door, Alan pointed at the bathroom. "I'll be out in a minute."

"Okay…" Ellie went into the living room. Lex was fiddling with the TV, and Tim had opened the French doors, and was looking outside.

"Sleeping Beauty will be out in a minute," Ellie said, which made the children giggle. She went into the kitchen to look around and was happy to see it was well equipped with stove, refrigerator, dishwasher, coffee maker, dishes, and cooking utensils.

"Ellie, look out here," Lex called out as she peered outside.

Ellie stepped through the door and into the gathering dusk. Surrounded by tropical plants; she found herself on a small patio complete with table and chairs. She and Alan had a patio at their home in Denver and they loved to eat and entertain their friends outside when the weather cooperated. She assumed they would do the same here. Beyond the patio, she could see a swimming pool. "Oh, I like this a lot," she said.

"You like what?" Alan asked, as he looked out the door. "Hey, this is terrific." He walked out followed by Tim and glanced around. "I must admit, they set us up in a nice hotel." Well maintained, the hotel was not opulent. "Well, are you guys ready to talk to your Mom?"

"Yeah," Tim said enthusiastically.

"I guess so…" Lex said.

Alan and Ellie sat down on the couch.

"Want to talk to her first?" he asked Tim.

"Okay."

"Then, here you go," he said as he gave the receiver to the boy, who seemed much more excited to talk to his mother than Lex did. He dialed the country code to the US. "What's your number?" he asked.

"415-026-4478."

* * *

For future reference, Alan wrote the number down on a notepad he had found by the telephone. 

Lynda Murphy ceased her pacing when she heard the phone ring, and half walked, half ran to answer it. "Hello?"

"Hi, Mom."

"Timmy! Oh honey, are you okay?" Tears formed in her eyes as she heard her son's voice.

"Yeah, we're fine." Tim stopped talking for a moment, and then continued. "Mom… Grandpa…he's…" His voice trailed off.

"I know, sweetheart. They told me," she said sadly. She prayed the children had not seen her father die. The Embassy had been vague about what exactly had happened, other than her father was dead, and two scientists had saved the children's lives and were caring for them.

"Honey, they said you were hurt."

"I just hurt my hands a little bit, but I'll be okay. I can't go swimming for a couple of days, though."

"Oh that's too bad. I know how much you like to swim. Do you need anything?"

"I don't think so. We went and got some clothes and stuff."

Lynda would have to pay them back for buying the clothes, but if it was true they had saved their lives, then there was no way to repay that. She would forever be in their debt. "Well, that's good. Are Dr. Grant and Dr. Sattler nice?"

"Oh yeah, they're great, they're taking good care of us."

"I'm glad to hear that. Well, I don't want to run their phone bill up, can I talk to Lex?"

"Yeah, she's right here."

"Tim?"

"Yes, Mom?"

"I love you sweetheart."

"I love you too. Here's Lex."

Tim gave the phone to Lex who put it to her ear. "Hi."

"Hi, sweetie. How are you?"

"I'm okay. Tim's the one that got hurt."

Lynda winced as she heard the barely suppressed anger in her daughter's voice. They had argued before she had left about her vegetarian diet and obviously, Lex still remembered that. Things had been tense between them for some time, and the divorce had not helped their relationship. Her daughter had been her husband's favorite, but he had seen almost nothing of the children since they had separated. Lex seemed to blame her for that too. However, if she were being honest, she would have to admit she had not been the most attentive mother for a long time.

"Well, I'm glad you're okay."

'I'm fine," Lex said shortly.

Lynda put her hand to her forehead in frustration. She began to say something further, but let is pass. There would be time for that later. "Well, I'd better talk to Dr. Grant, if he's there."

"He's here."

"Good night sweetheart, I love you."

"Me too."

Lynda sighed at the tone of voice Lex used. There was so much to repair in their relationship.

Lex handed Alan the receiver. "She wants to talk to you."

Alan nodded. He felt uncomfortable; he didn't have any idea what to say to the woman; after all, her father had just died and her children were under the care of two strangers.

"Mrs. Murphy, this is Alan Grant."

Lynda realized she would be Mrs. Murphy for just a few more days, then after 17 years of marriage, her name would be Hammond again.

"Dr. Grant, I wanted to thank you for taking care of the children."

Surprised by her calm manner, Alan hesitated before he spoke. He would have thought she would have been more upset. However, he felt a growing numbness about what had happened, as though it had occurred a long time ago. He supposed they were all suffering from shock. Perhaps it was for the best; he could not afford to dwell on Isla Nublar. He was worried about the others. Tim had emerged from his emotional shell, and on the surface both Ellie and Lex seemed fine. However, he knew they were bound to suffer aftereffects. "It's no problem at all. I'm very sorry about what happened to John. I wish there was something more we could have done." No matter how angry he might have been with Hammond, he did not want him to die.

Lynda thought she heard a slight hint of an accent in his voice, Australian maybe. "I should have never allowed the children to go to that island. My father is very persuasive, however," she said, a catch in her throat. "Rather, he was very persuasive."

"I know that very well, Mrs. Murphy." Alan replied ruefully.

"I always thought it was insane trying to clone those creatures."

"You knew what they were doing?"

"I knew a great deal of what InGen was doing, Dr. Grant. Until recently, I was on the board of directors. Early on a few of the more rational members of the board tried very hard to talk them out of building the park, but it did no good. I resigned from the board three years ago. The only thing the rest of them could see was dollar signs. This is what it got them," she said bitterly, then sighed. There was no point in rehashing that sad story. "Look, why don't you call me Lynda?"

"Okay, if you'll call me Alan."

"I'll do that." She liked his soft-spoken voice; something in it made her trust him. "I hope Tim hasn't been too much of a pest, he's been obsessed about dinosaurs since he was a toddler. He was thrilled when my father told him you were going to be there."

Alan chuckled. "No, he hasn't bothered me a bit. He's a very brave kid. They both are."

Ellie shook her head as she remembered the way he had reacted when he had first seen the kids on the stairs. Things had certainly changed since then.

"Frankly, after what's happened, I don't know how much interest he's going to have in the subject," he said.

Lynda laughed. "Somehow, I don't think that will deter him. Tim told me you had bought some clothes for them."

"Yes, we had to leave everything on the island."

"I want to pay you back for the clothes."

"We can talk about that when you get here."

"All right, but I will pay you back."

Alan chuckled. "Okay."

"Are the children nearby?"

"Yeah." He figured Lynda wanted to know more about what had happened to John. The fact was he did not know how Hammond had died. He would have to find out from Muldoon. He thought back to Ellie's coldness towards the man, and wondered once again what had happened between them.

"The Embassy wouldn't, or couldn't tell me what happened to my father, but I don't want to upset the children. I'd like to know what happened. Would you mind calling me later after they've gone to bed?"

"Sure, that'll work."

"Thanks.

"Lynda, I'm supposed to go talk to the Costa Ricans in a couple of days; hopefully they'll be ready for the kids to leave then."

"I'm in the middle of divorce hearings, which should be finished this week. If necessary, I'll get a postponement and fly down and get them."

Alan thought for a moment; he had an idea, but he knew he should ask Ellie first, although he was sure he knew what the answer would be. "I need to ask Ellie something. Can you hold on for a moment?"

"Sure." That must be Dr. Sattler, Lynda thought.

He put his hand over the receiver. "Ellie, Mrs. Murphy has some court hearings to finish," he said, not mentioning the divorce itself. Nevertheless, he saw the two children scowl. "She'd have to delay them to come down here. How about we let Tim and Lex stay with us until they're finished?" He was motivated by more than altruism, he genuinely liked and cared about the two youngsters.

"That's fine with me," Ellie looked at the children. "How would you guys like to hang out with us for a few days?"

"Cool…" Tim said.

"Yeah, that'll be fun," Lex said, a broad smile on her face.

Alan took his hand off the receiver. "Lynda, if it'll help out we can take care of Lex and Tim until you get finished. It's going to be awhile until we get out of here."

Torn between wanting to get the divorce over with and getting her children back, Lynda hesitated. It was only going to take a few more days to be finished with the whole thing. "Do you mind? It would be a huge help."

"We'll be happy to."

"Thank you so much. How are the kids doing on clothes?"

"Ellie got them enough for three days."

"Hmm… I can send some of theirs if it'll help."

"That might be a good idea. We're going to have some of ours shipped down too."

"I'm going to need the address of the hotel."

Alan laughed. "Right…Sorry, my brains a little slow this evening."

Lynda could hear the fatigue in his voice. "I understand. Are you certain you want to do this? Those two can be a handful."

"They'll be fine. I just need a good nights sleep."

"Okay, if you say so." She felt a little guilty about asking him to call her back. "Don't worry about calling me tonight. Nothing's going to change what happened."

"Okay, sure. Let me get that address." Alan reached over to the table and picked up a binder with the hotel information. "Here it is; let me spell it. My Spanish is nonexistent." He spelled out the name and address. "The hotel's phone number is 506-245-0812. 506 must be the country code."

"Okay, I've got it. Well, I'm running up your phone bill. I'm terribly sorry you had to get mixed up in this mess."

"What's done is done, Lynda."

"That's true. I'll get those clothes off tomorrow. I guess Federal Express would be the best way."

"Probably. I'll talk to you later."

"Good night Alan."

Alan hung up the phone. "Your mother's nice."

"Yeah, she's pretty cool for a Mom," Tim said.

Lex did not comment, Ellie noticed. Ellie was certain there were problems between them. Her own parents had been divorced when she was about Lex's age, and she knew from experience how traumatic it could be.

"Guys, if you want to, you can take your showers while we call home," Alan said.

"Where should I put my clothes?" Lex asked.

"Well, why don't you put yours in the bedroom with the two beds?" Ellie asked. They might as well get the sleeping arrangements sorted out, she thought. "In fact, I'll put mine in there too. Lex, if you don't mind, I'll sleep in the other bed."

Lex looked at her in surprise. "You're not going to sleep with Alan?"

The girl's directness startled her. "Well, Lex, we thought under the circumstances it would be the best thing to do."

"Why?"

Alan smothered a smile as Ellie tried to explain their reason for not sleeping with each other.

"Lex, we're not married, and your mother might not like for us to sleep together."

Lex shrugged. "Okay, whatever you want to do."

"Where am I going to sleep?" Tim asked.

"Well, we have three beds for four people." She looked at Alan and did her best to keep a straight face. "I know; you and Tim can share the bed in your room." The look of disbelief on Alan's face was priceless, and Ellie almost burst out laughing. _Gotcha back, buster_, she thought; she had seen how amused he was at her predicament.

Alan liked Tim, but there was no way in hell he was going to sleep in the same bed with him. "Uh… What about a rollaway?" Alan said, glaring at Ellie.

Ellie laughed. "I was kidding, don't worry." Glancing down at the couch, she had an idea. "Alan, stand up."

"What?"

"Stand up. I want to see if this is a sofa bed."

"Of course… Cross your fingers."

They took off the cushions and Ellie saw a strap attached to the underside of the couch. "I think we're in luck," she said.

Ellie pulled the strap and to Alan's relief a ready-made bed, including pillows, folded out.

Ellie chuckled. "You're off the hook, dear."

"Thankfully," Alan said.

Tim jumped onto the bed. "Oh cool a sofa bed. I want to sleep here!"

"You sure can," Ellie said. Problem solved she thought, with relief.

"Tim, let's put the sofa back together until we're ready to go to bed," Alan said.

Tim got off the bed. "Okay."

Ellie folded the bed back into the couch and replaced the cushions. "Can you and Tim share some closet space?"

"Sure," Alan said.

"I'll put my stuff in there after I take my shower," Tim said.

Alan realized he was getting hungry. "Is everybody hungry?" Alan asked.

"Yeah, kinda," Tim said.

"After everybody gets cleaned up we'll see what we can stir up with room service."

"Great!" Lex said.

"I guess I'll put my things up too," Alan said. He went into his bedroom and began to put away his clothes as the others gathered up theirs from the table. Tim came into the bedroom and put his bags on the bed then went into the bathroom.

That job completed, Alan returned to the living room and sat down. He propped his head against the back of the sofa, propped up his feet, and closed his eyes. He had decided to wait for Ellie, as she might want to tell Ben something.

After a few minutes, Ellie walked wearily into the room. "All done," she said as she sat down next to him, and tucked her long legs under her body. "How much money are you going to get Ben to wire?"

"We need to pay Joe back so I was thinking 400 would be more than enough, so if you want to she can send 200."

"Okay… That sounds good."

Alan dialed the number and waited, hoping someone was around the trailer at that time of the evening.

* * *

Reius Devirix and Stocktonwood: Thanks so much for the comments. I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I'm having a lot of fun writing it! 


	7. Chapter 6

I'd like to thank my editors, teach and Yvonne for they're terrific suggestions. You guys are the best.

* * *

Ben heard the distinctive warble of the radiophone and jogged over to the lab, and threw open the door. He stepped inside, and picked up the microphone, at the same time pressing the button to open the channel. "Ben Kincannon."

The connection was scratchy, both from the distance of the call and the radiophone they used in the field. However, the Oklahoma drawl Alan heard was unmistakable. "Ben, it's Alan."

"Hey boss, it's about time you called. How was the park?"

Before they left, Alan had filled him in with what little he knew about the park, the purpose for their visit, and the expected payoff at the end. Alan did not want to rehash what had happened, but he had to give him some reason for the delay.

For a moment, the line went silent and Ben wondered if he had lost the connection. "Alan?"

"Sorry, I'm here." He would tell Ben the basics; that would be enough for now. "There was an accident at the park—Hammond's dead—a lot of people are dead."

Ben's jaw dropped in surprise. "Damn, are you guys okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine. We're back in San José."

"Oh okay…You're coming home tomorrow, right?" Time was short; they would be returning to Denver in a few days to start the fall semester. Then their real work would begin; the restoration and classification of thousands of pounds of fossil remains they had excavated during the summer. Alan's next words brought his attention sharply back to the present.

"Well, we can't."

"What do you mean, you can't?"

"Just that, we can't. Washington and Costa Rica are having a political spat, and the Costa Ricans don't think it's a good idea if we leave right now."

Ben did not miss the sarcasm in Alan's voice. "You gotta be kidding? You go there on a consulting job, things get screwed up, and they make _you_ stay?"

"That's how it stacks up."

"But—you guys are American citizens, can't Washington do anything?"

"Well, the Ambassador's trying to help. I hope we'll get out of here in a couple of days, but I'm not going to count on it."

"Alan, what the hell happened?"

"It's too long a story to go into right now. How're the extractions going?"

Ben got the message and let the subject drop; Alan no doubt had his reasons for not speaking further about it. "The E-Saurus will be done by the time we close shop, but I don't see any way we can get the raptor done."

"I had my doubts we'd get it finished," Alan said. "Look, take out what you can, then winterize the rest." Ellie had discovered the_ Maiasaura peeblesorum _while prospecting two years ago, and as was Alan's tradition, they had nicknamed the skeleton for the discoverer. Usually they were excavating skeletons in multiple locations, and the nicknames served as a crude field catalog system to keep them separate. They had spent parts of the last two seasons excavating the Maiasaura; he estimated they had recovered over 40 of the skeleton, in excellent condition. It would make a superb display, he thought.

Alan had not planned to return to the Two Medicine formation next year, but the late discovery of the raptor had thrown a chink into his plans. Next summer, he would send some of the crew back to finish the raptor, while the rest of the crew headed east to Hell Creek. That would depend on the funding of course; he decided not to say anything about their potential problems to Ben, he would know soon enough. "Can you do us a favor–actually I need two favors."

"Sure, what do you need?"

"We don't have our passports or any Costa Rican money, so the embassy's setting up some kind of a trust fund—"

"Oh, I see, Alan the trust fund boy."

"Ben, it's not that kind of a trust fund," Alan said, smiling despite his best efforts to the contrary.

"Okay, okay... what can I do?"

"I need you to withdraw $200 from the business account and wire it to the embassy here." For several years, he had kept an account at the Citizen's State Bank in Choteau for their field expenses. It was not only convenient; it helped keep good relations with the local community. He knew of several instances where trouble between researchers and locals had led to vandalism of dig sites. He made it a point to get to know the people who lived in the small towns around the dig, and counted many of them as friends. More than once a rancher had called to tell him they had found a newly exposed fossil on their property, and some of the calls had led to major discoveries. Only with the good will and trust of the landowners would he have received permission to dig on their properties.

The nearest Western Union was in Great Falls. Ben decided to withdraw the money from the bank and wire it from the city. He reached over and picked up a pen and paper. "Where do I send the wire?"

"You'll need to send it here." Alan reached for the piece of paper that Joe had given them, and then read the address to Ben.

"Got it—what's the other favor?"

"Well, we lost everything we brought, so Ellie bought us new clothes to last a few days. We don't think that's going to be enough though, so we need some of our own clothes shipped here."

"You think you'll be stuck there that long?"

"Looks like it; you may have to close down the dig." At that moment, Alan realized they would have to get substitutes for their classes they were going to teach that fall.

"What's going to happen to your classes?"

"I was just thinking of that." Alan rubbed his forehead; he could feel his headache returning. "Hell, we'll work that out tomorrow. Buddy, I hate to dump everything on you."

"Don't worry about it; we'll take care of it." There was a shipping center in Great Falls they frequently used and since he would already be in the city, he would send the clothes from there. "I'll let Sue take care of Ellie's clothes. How much do you want us to send?"

"Ben, hang on a minute." Alan glanced at Ellie. "You think clothes enough for four days would be enough?"

Ellie nodded slowly, thinking over what Alan had said. "That would be perfect; we won't have to do laundry every other day. Hey, ask him to put in my extra pair of glasses; they're in my trunk."

Alan gave Ben the necessary information.

"Okay, will do. What's the address of the hotel?"

As he had done with Lynda, Alan spelled out the name and address. "Here's our phone number, too." While he was giving him the number, he saw Tim come out of the bedroom, dressed in sweats and a T-shirt as everyone else had done. The boy sat down in one of the other chairs and smiled happily at the two adults.

"Got it," Ben said.

"Hey, be sure to take out enough money from the account to cover the international shipping."

"Yeah, I'll do that." Ben knew shipping a package to Costa Rica would be expensive.

Alan looked over at Tim and returned his smile. "Hey Tim, feel better?"

"Oh yeah, definitely."

"Who's Tim?" Ben asked.

"Oh, he's a young freeloader we picked up along the way," Alan said. Beside him, Ellie quietly laughed. "Actually, Tim and his sister will be staying with us for a few days."

_What is this_, Ben wondered. "How young is young?"

Alan was not sure how old the boy was, so he took a guess. "Tim, you're eleven?"

"Almost, I'll be eleven in November."

"Tim is almost eleven."

For the second time, Ben's jaw dropped in surprise. "Okay—I want to know who you are and who kidnapped Alan Grant. The real Alan Grant wouldn't voluntarily get within a mile of a kid, much less baby sit two of them."

That had once been true, Alan thought, but the two children had given him a glimpse of what a family could be like; amazingly, he was enjoying it, even the arguments. For a moment, he allowed himself to imagine the two of them with children, a family. She would be a wonderful mother, he thought wistfully. "It's kind of complicated."

"It must be." Although Ben would have loved to know the story behind this, he had learned not to press that particular button.

"Well, I'd better get going." Alan said. "We're going to get something to eat, and then hit the sack."

Ben could hear the fatigue in his voice. "You sound bushed."

"We are. We've had a rough time."

"Well, I'll call you tomorrow after I get back. Get some rest."

"That's the plan. Night, Ben." He started to hang up when he heard Ben's voice.

"Alan, wait!"

"Yeah?"

"I almost forgot, Ellie's mother called today. I told her you two had eloped and were in Costa Rica on your honeymoon."

"You didn't." Alan said flatly.

Ben smiled; sometimes it was just too easy to get the man going. "I'm kidding, don't worry. Abbie called to talk to Ellie, and I told her you guys were there on a consulting job."

Alan sighed in relief. "Okay, I'll tell her."

"Good night, Alan—or whoever you are."

* * *

"Was that Alan?" Sue asked as she climbed into the trailer. She and a couple of the kids had been cleaning up after dinner when she had seen Ben dash into the trailer. They had expected to hear from Alan some time that day.

"I don't know." Ben shook his head, perplexed by what the paleontologist had told him. "It sounded like Alan, but there's no way that could have been Alan."

Sue watched her husband pace, as he muttered under his breath. "Ben, what is going on?

"Going on? Alan has been kidnapped and replaced by a pod person, that's all."

Sue grabbed Ben by the arm to halt his pacing. "Ben, what are you talking about? You're not making any sense."

Ben stopped and turned to face her. "Honey, I'm sorry. They're still in Costa Rica. There was some kind of an accident at the park; he said Hammond and some other people are dead."

"Oh my God." Before they had left, Alan had introduced Hammond to the crew; he had reminded her of a jovial, rich Santa Claus. Ben had told her what Hammond was going to pay for the job; it would mean the end of funding worries for years. "That's awful. What happened?"

"He wouldn't say—just that there had been an accident," Ben said with a shrug.

"Are they okay?"

"He said they were; he sounded dog-tired though. He did say we may have to shut the place down for the season; for some reason the Costa Ricans won't let them leave."

"Why?"

"Some kind of political flap," he said with a shrug of the shoulders. "He wasn't exactly a fountain of information; you know how he gets sometimes. So anyway, I've got to drive over to Great Falls tomorrow and wire him some money to the embassy."

"I hope they're helping them out."

"He said the Ambassador was trying to; he didn't sound too optimistic, though. On top of everything else, they somehow lost all the extra clothes they took, so he wants us to send them some of their stuff from here."

"What an awful situation to be in. I wonder what happened."

"Your guess is as good as mine. Can you take care of Ellie's clothes? She needs her extra pair of glasses too."

"Sure, I'll take care of it."

"We'd better get everything together tonight; I want to be on the road early." He planned to be at the bank when it opened, and then he would drive to Great Falls afterwards. He had made the drive a number of times; it he knew it was an hour and a half trip.

"Okay… so what's this about Alan being kidnapped?"

"Oh, just the fact that along the way they've somehow collected a couple of kids; a ten year old boy named Tim, and his sister. They're staying with them while they're in San José."

Sue was flabbergasted. "I don't believe it." That was the last thing she had expected to hear.

"See, that's why I think he's a pod person." Alan had liked children when he was younger, and had eagerly done classroom lectures. His attitude had abruptly changed after Amanda had died; he now seemed to consider them a communicable disease. Ben vividly remembered how he had gone after the kid who dared to question his theory about birds and dinosaurs. Admittedly, the urchin had proven to be a nuisance to everyone, but Alan seemed to take great delight in scaring the living daylights out of him. He had kidded him about his attitude a couple of times; the last time Alan's eyes had turned ice cold and he told Ben not to ever mention anything about children again.

Sue laughed, and patted him on the back. "Come on, let's get those clothes together. We're going to need a box, too."

Ben followed her into Alan and Ellie's living area, shaking his head. "He's a pod person, I tell you."

Clean-shaven once more, Alan smiled as he toweled his face dry. He knew that would make Ellie happy. In truth, he was happier without the stubble, too. He had never been tempted to grow a beard, not even in college. He slipped on a T-shirt to go with the sweat pants Ellie had bought him, and then put on a pair of socks; he was not about to put his shoes back on that night. With a grimace, he stuffed the clothes he had worn on the island in one of the shopping bags. They were history; no amount of washing could remove the red stains out of the fabric.

He walked into the living room; and saw the kids were fiddling with the television. Ellie sat on the couch, her stocking feet propped on the table. Both she and Lex had chosen sweats and a T-shirt also. "Looks like we all had the same idea," Alan said.

"Looks like it," Ellie said.

"Alan, all the channels are in Spanish," Lex said, frowning.

Alan sat down on the couch beside Ellie. "Uh oh—looks like we'll either have to learn Spanish or find something else to do."

Tim held up his hands, he had taken his bandages off to take his bath. "I think I need some new bandages on my hands," Tim said.

"Oh yeah, sure," Alan said as he wearily stood up again. "All right, here we go," he said as they sat down at the table. The doctor had told them the youngster could get his hands wet for a short time but he was to avoid prolonged exposure to water. He applied some ointment to his hands then bandaged them as he had seen the nurse do. His hands did not seem any worse, he noted, and there was no sign of infection.

"Ellie got Lex and me a swimsuit," Tim said as he watched Alan. "How long do you think it's going to be before I can swim?"

"We'll have to wait and see, Tim."

Tim sighed. "Okay."

"Patience," he said with a gentle smile.

Tim nodded reluctantly. "I know."

Alan nodded as he finished the task. "There, good as new." He walked back to the couch and Ellie lifted her feet as he sat down. "I think we were talking about food earlier."

"I seem to remember that," Ellie said. She reached behind her and gave him the hotel binder. "We were looking at it while you were cleaning up."

Alan flipped the pages until he came to the section for room service meals; he saw there were both Costa Rican and North American dishes. "Lex, Ellie told me you're a vegetarian."

"Yeah."

Alan noted her body tense slightly, her voice defensive, as though she was preparing for an argument. He figured she probably had received some criticism from her parents. "That's interesting. I think we can do some adjusting, don't you, Ellie?"

Ellie smiled at Lex, she understood what Alan was doing. "I don't see why not, I'll just need a little guidance on what to buy."

Lex looked at them in relief. "I can do that. I do eat dairy stuff, so I guess I'm not a total veggie."

"Good, I'll remember that," Ellie said. It would give her more flexibility in preparing meals. "I want to try the Gallo Pinto."

"I was just reading about that," he said. "Rice and black beans cooked with onions, cilantro, and garlic; sounds interesting."

"I think I'd like that with some vegetable soup," Lex said.

Tim looked dubious. "Not me—Ellie said they had hamburgers and French fries. That's what I want."

"You know, Tim, I think I'll have that too," Alan said.

"Soup and Gallo Pinto will do for me too," Ellie said.

"Does anybody want anything to drink?" Alan asked. "Milk, tea, Cokes?"

"I think I just want some water; I can't seem to get enough," Ellie said.

"Milk would be good," Lex said.

"Milk for me too, please," Tim added.

Alan thought milk would be perfect. "Okay, I guess that's it then." He picked up the phone and pressed the extension for room service.

"Ellie, can we go out on the patio?" Lex asked.

"Sure, go ahead. Where do they get the energy?" Ellie asked Alan as she watched the kids go outside; they seemed to have mysteriously found a second wind.

"Beats me, we should bottle it," he said.

As Alan ordered the food, Ellie suddenly realized they would have to get substitutes for the classes they were supposed to teach that fall. If the Costa Ricans only realized how many problems they had caused them. It had gone way beyond an inconvenience, she thought.

Alan hung up the phone after talking to room service. "Should be here in 20-30 minutes."

"What are we going to do about our classes?" she asked.

He patted her on the leg. "I thought of that earlier. That's a tomorrow problem–we can't do anything about it tonight." Alan snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah, Ben said Abbie called today. He told her we were on a consulting job."

Ellie nodded. "I was going to call her after dinner, but I might as well do it now. You know, that blows our cover story." She thought for a moment, and then shrugged her shoulders. "The consultant story is more realistic anyway."

Alan handed her the phone. "It's the truth, too. It'll work as long as we don't have to tell anybody they had live dinosaurs in the park."

"True." Ellie dialed her mother's number, and wondered if anyone would ever know about Jurassic Park.

Abbie heard the phone ring. "Kyle, I'll get it," she called out to her husband as she reached for the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi Mom."

"Hi honey, I'm glad to hear from you. I understand you and Alan took a trip to Costa Rica."

"Yeah, we're in San José now."

"I see. Ben said you were there for a consulting job."

"Right." Her parents had met Ben and Sue during her first semester as a PhD candidate, and the two couples had become fast friends.

"What kind of consulting job was it?"

"It was for a new amusement park they were building." Ellie realized she had unconsciously slipped into the past tense; the park would never open, its inhabitants and secrets destroyed forever.

"An amusement park? What kind of consulting could you do for an amusement park?"

Here comes the tricky part, Ellie thought. "Well, the owner is a major investor in Alan's research," she said, making certain she referred to Hammond in the present tense. Her mother was sharp; she might notice that. "The park uh…is going to have a dinosaur theme so he wanted our opinion."

Something in her daughter's voice, the hesitation perhaps, told her something was wrong. "Oh, I see, that's interesting. When are you coming home?"

"Uh…well, we're not sure. There was an accident at the park—"

Abbie's level of alarm went up a notch. "Was anyone hurt?"

Ellie really did not want to talk about this subject, but she could not out and out lie to her mother. "Yes, there were some fatalities," she said softly.

"Oh that's horrible, are you and Alan okay?"

"We're fine. The thing is we can't go home until the Costa Rican government says we can." She decided to make a joke of their predicament. "I guess Alan's going to get a vacation whether he wants one or not."

Again, Abbie had the feeling that something was amiss. "Ellie, is there something you're not telling me? Are you sure you're okay?"

Ellie felt her frustration growing. "Mom, everything's fine, I promise."

"What in the world happened?"

"Mom, right now I can't talk about it." She struggled to find the right words to satisfy her mother's curiosity. "We're material witnesses, I guess."

"I see."

Time for a change of subject, she decided. "Can you do me a favor? We didn't bring our passports, and the US Embassy is setting up an account so we can get some Costa Rican currency. Can I borrow $200 from you until we get back?"

Abbie wondered why they had not taken their passports. What had Alan gotten her daughter into?No, that was wrong, whatever had happened, Ellie was a grown woman, and she knew Alan well enough to know he would never knowingly put her in danger. "Ellie, of course you can. How can I send it to you?"

"Just send a Western Union wire to the embassy in Alan's name." He handed her the paper with the embassy's address, which she read to her mother.

"Okay, I'll do that tomorrow. Are you sure $200 will be enough?"

"That will be fine. The Costa Rican government is paying for the hotel, so we just need money for food and such. Alan is going to get Ben to send the same amount, which should be more than enough. You know, things are really inexpensive here; our clinic bill was only about $60." The words tumbled out before she could stop talking; she covered her eyes in dismay.

"What? Ellie, I thought you said you were okay!"

"We just had some cuts and bruises, that's all." She omitted any mention of Alan's back injury; there was no reason to get her started on that subject. "There's nothing permanent or serious wrong," she said, hoping to reassure her mother. "Mom, I promise you we're okay; we're just worn-out." She heard her mother sigh in frustration.

Abbie started to question her further, but knew it was useless to try. "All right, if you say so."

"Let me give you our number here." Alan handed her the binder, which was open to the name, address, and phone number of the hotel. Ellie yawned as she gave the number out.

"You really are tired aren't you?" Abbie said sympathetically.

"We're beat. We've got room service ordered then we're off to bed." She was about done in; all she needed was a full stomach.

"Well, I'll let you go then. If you need anything, let us know."

"Okay. I'll talk to you later, Mom. Give Dad my love."

"I will, do the same with Alan. Goodnight, dear."

"Night, Mom."

Abbie hung up the phone and strode into the den. "Kyle, that was Ellie," she said to her husband. "You won't believe what she told me."

With an exasperated groan, Ellie handed the phone back to Alan, then laughed nervously. "Oh God Alan, I _can not_ believe I said that; she's going to worry herself to death now."

Alan laughed. "She'll be okay, but I bet she gives us the third degree when we get home."

"You're probably right; she sends her love by the way."

Alan nodded; he was very fond of both her mother and stepfather. He knew her mother had initially been concerned about their age difference. Even before they had been involved romantically, they had had a long talk about a number of subjects pertaining to their daughter. "Hey, you're about out on your feet. I owe you for shopping for me."

Ellie slid down and put her head in his lap. "I didn't mind; you needed to rest. You'll have to pay me back sometime."

Alan nodded and smiled. "I can think of a few ways." They sat quietly in silence, waiting for their dinner. The children came back into the suite and sprawled in the other chairs.

"What's going to happen tomorrow?" Tim asked.

"Well, I have to go down to the embassy with Mr. Reiling and get that account set up, then we can get some money wired to us," Alan said.

"And… I need to go grocery shopping," Ellie said. "You know, I don't think that little market is going to have everything I need, so we'll need to find a bigger grocery store. I'd like to find a bookstore that sells English language books, too."

"Hey, that's a good idea." At that moment, he heard a soft rap at the door. Ellie leaned forward as he stood and walked to the door. He opened it, and found two hotel employees in the hall with room service carts.

"Good evening _Señor_, you ordered room service?"

"Yes, thank you." He held the door while the men pushed the carts into the room.

"_Señor_, would you like for me to set the table?"

"That's okay, we can handle it."

"As you wish _Señor_. Would you like to add the charge to the room bill?"

"That will be fine." He looked over the bill, which included the tip, then signed and handed it back to the man.

"Thank you _Señor_, have a good evening."

"Thanks."

Ellie started to get up as Alan shut the door. "Nope, you stay right there," Alan said. "We'll take care of it, won't we guys?"

"Oh yeah, we can do that," Tim said.

Ellie laughed and sat back down. "I'm not going to say no."

Looking over the carts, Alan saw there were four complete place settings. Good, he thought, no dishes to put into the dishwasher.

Lex and Tim drifted over to the table and began to take the tops off the plates. "That looks good," Tim said as he placed one of the hamburgers on the table.

Alan nodded in agreement. The burgers did not look exactly like they would find back home, but they were close enough; the fries looked tasty as well. He took the plastic covering off one of the bowls of soup and put it on the table.

Unable to contain her curiosity, Ellie walked over to where the others were setting the table.

"Perfect timing," Alan said, putting his arm around her.

"Seems that way." She sat down next to Alan; the children took the other two seats.

"Do you guys normally say Grace?" he asked Lex and Tim.

"Not usually, but I think it would be nice tonight," Lex said, her expression thoughtful.

"I do too, Lex," Ellie said.

They all joined hands and bowed their heads. _"Our dear Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for this food," _Alan began._ "Feed our souls on the bread of life and help us to do our part in kind words and loving deeds. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen_._"_

"Amen," Ellie said. She was surprised at the effortlessness of his words; neither of them was overly religious.

Alan noticed Ellie watching him, a quirky smile on her face. "What?"

"That was lovely, your Grandfather would be proud." She grinned impishly. "You must have at least paid a little attention in church."

Alan snorted. "I didn't have much choice; we got our ears boxed if we didn't."

"Is your Grandfather a minister?" Tim asked.

"He was. He passed away a few years ago; he was a good, decent man." Although deeply religious, and despite the ongoing evolution versus creation controversy, his Grandfather Charles had openly encouraged his interest in fossils and paleontology. He missed his wise gentle spirit.

The hotel had provided individual catsup containers for the French fries, and Alan dipped a fry into the catsup then took a bite. "Not bad."

"My hamburger's good too," Tim said.

"Alan, tell us more about your family, please?" Lex begged. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

Ellie noted Alan seemed to take Lex's crush in stride; she thought it was adorable.

Alan nodded as he swallowed a bite of his hamburger. "I have a younger brother and sister."

"Are they scientists too?" Tim said.

"Nope, they both work for Qantas Airlines. Stan's a pilot and Becky trains the flight attendants."

"What kind of plane does he fly?" Tim asked.

"He's a co-pilot on a 747. He hasn't got quite enough hours to be the pilot, but he's getting there." Growing up, he recalled his brother had been as fixated on flying has he had been on fossils.

Ellie noticed a bottle of sauce called _Salsa Lizano_ on the table, she wondered if it might be good on the Gallo Pinto, which she found to be a little bland. Taking the bottle, she shook a few drops into the bowl and after mixing it up; she ate a spoonful.

"Any good?" Alan asked.

"Yeah, the Gallo Pinto isn't very spicy on its own; it just gives it a little kick."

Alan nodded. "Okay."

"What does your father do?" Tim asked.

"He's a geologist."

"That's kind of related to a paleontologist, isn't it?"

"Very good, Tim. A basic grounding in geology is essential if you want to be a real paleontologist," Ellie said.

"Oh, okay."

"And your mom's a doctor, right?" Lex asked.

Alan shot a glance at Ellie. With all the questions, he was beginning to feel as if he was back in Olvera's office; at least the questions were more pleasant this time. "Yep, she is."

"How did they meet?" Lex asked.

"Well, he was working in New Zealand, and one day he broke his hand and he had to have it operated on. He met my mother while he was in rehab; and they started going out together. Later, they got married and he liked the country so much he decided to raise our family there."

"So you were born in New Zealand?" Lex asked.

"Yep."

"Where's New Zealand?" Tim asked.

"Geography isn't Tim's strong suit," Lex said.

"Hey, I haven't studied geography yet."

Alan smiled. "That's okay; it's a pretty small country. If you were to look on a map, New Zealand would be next to Australia."

"Oh okay, I know where Australia is—at least I think I do."

"If we see a world map someplace, Alan can show you where it is," Ellie said.

"Okay, good."

"The interesting thing is my father's from Arizona. Since my mother's from New Zealand, I have what's called dual citizenship—I have both American and New Zealand citizenship," he said as a way of explanation to the children.

The children were fascinated, Ellie could see, and Alan was enjoying himself immensely.

"Do you have to pay taxes in both countries? My dad's _always_ complaining about taxes," Lex said.

Alan chuckled. "Nope, I just have to pay taxes in the US, which is bad enough!"

"So when did you come to the US?" Tim asked.

"When I started college at Cal-Berkeley. I've been living in the states ever since."

"Hey, that school is near where we live," Lex said.

Alan nodded. "That's what I thought when I heard your area code."

"You came all by yourself?" Lex asked.

Alan nodded. "All by myself."

"Wow, that's brave," Tim said.

"Not particularly." Truthfully, he had been scared to death to leave his family. At one point during his freshman year, feeling lonely and alienated by the strange environment of his new country, he had come very close to quitting school and returning to New Zealand. Only the encouragement and support of his paleontology professors kept him in school.

"Do you ever go back to New Zealand?" Tim asked.

"I haven't been back in a few years, but we're thinking about going next year, aren't we?" he asked Ellie.

"I would love to," she said. She had long wanted to visit the country of his origin; she secretly thought it would make a wonderful honeymoon.

"Ellie, what about you?" Lex said.

"I'm afraid my story's not half as interesting as Alan's."

"I wouldn't say that," Alan said.

Ellie smiled affectionately at Alan. "Well, I'm an Air Force brat. I was born in Ft. Worth and we moved around a lot, all over the world, really. Okinawa, Japan, North Dakota, and then back to Texas. We went wherever the Air Force said to go." She had attended four different schools in six years; it had seemed like as soon as she would make new friends, it would be time to move on.

Alan knew she had attended several schools during her elementary years. Each time she changed schools, she would have had to catch up. Despite this, she had excelled academically and received her PhD at a remarkably young age. It spoke volumes about her intellect and academic drive. He loved her mind as much as he loved her body. _So why don't you tell her that_, his conscience asked.

For a fleeting moment, Ellie saw Alan's expression change. "Hey, are you okay?" She asked softly, putting her hand on his arm.

Ellie saw Alan's expression revert to normalcy. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Does your Dad fly fighters?" Tim asked, breaking the mood between them.

Ellie shook her head. "He flew B-52's."

"Wow! That's awesome. I saw one at an air show once. It was huge," Tim said.

"And loud, too," she said.

"Is he still in the Air Force?" Lex asked.

"No, I'm afraid not. He passed away a few years ago."

"Oh, that's too bad."

"Yeah, I miss him a lot." Her parents had divorced when she was twelve, and her mother had later married a wonderful man, who had become as much a father to her as any biological father could. She had grown up with a great deal of anger towards her father, feeling that he had abandoned them. She had not seen much of her father until a few years ago when he suddenly appeared one day at her door. When she realized who it was she almost refused to let him in, but she had finally relented. He had apologized for not being a part of her life, and he had said that he would regret that for the rest of his life. He asked for her forgiveness, and sensing his sincerity, she accepted. They had gradually grown closer during the last years of his life. She regretted he had not lived to see her get her Ph.D.

"Do you have brothers and sisters?" Lex asked

"I sure do. I have two older brothers and a younger step-sister."

Both of the children's eyes widened. "Your parents got a divorce?"

"When I was twelve."

"Oh…" Lex said, then fell silent.

"Did you brothers ever pick on you?" Tim asked with a pointed glance at his sister.

"Tim, all the time."

"I'm glad it's not just me."

"It's the universal condition, I'm afraid. I tell you what though, when I was little they looked out for me and heaven help anybody else pick on me. I was the same way with my sister, too."

Tim snickered. "One time, there was this kid who was messing with me, and Lex chased him all the way down the street. She told him if he didn't leave me alone she was going to beat the crap out of him."

Lex turned red in the face. "Tim!"

"Well, you did—he never bothered me again either."

"Well, I was pretty mad. That punk was a lot bigger than you were."

Alan chuckled. "I think you did the only thing you could do."

"So Alan, did you ever pick on your brother and sister?" Ellie asked playfully.

Alan cleared his throat. "I think I'm going to take the Fifth on that particular subject."

"So what about you two?" Ellie asked, as she laughed at Alan's words.

"Oh, we're boring," Lex said.

"No, you're not," Ellie said. "Everyone has something interesting about themselves. Have you thought about what you want to be when you grow up?"

"I'm not sure. I do like computers—"

"Thank God for that," Alan quipped.

Lex laughed. "Yeah, but I like animals too, at least non-dinosaur animals. I might like to be a vet."

"That's a terrific idea, Lex. You still have plenty of time to decide, just follow your heart," Ellie said.

Lex nodded her head and smiled. "I will."

"Tim?" Alan asked.

The boy thought for a moment and looked at them, his expression serious. "I want to be a paleontologist just like you and Ellie."

"After what's happened?" Lex asked, in a shocked voice.

"Even more so. Alan, they had that frog DNA stuff in them, right?"

"Right."

"Then that would mean they weren't pure dinosaurs."

Surprised by Tim's statement, Alan leaned back in his chair. The boy might not know where New Zealand was, but there was a working brain there. "That's exactly what I think, Tim. There's no telling how the external DNA affected their looks and behavior."

The large size of the raptors puzzled him; they had been far bigger than any species thus far discovered. Was their large size a product of the foreign DNA, or were they a previously unknown species, he wondered.

Tim nodded. "Then I want to study the real ones—or at least what's left of the real ones."

"We'll be glad to teach you, Tim," Ellie said.

A grin split Tim's face. "Good."

"I think you're nuts," Lex muttered.

Alan remembered what Lynda had said to him earlier; it was true, Tim's experience on Jurassic Park had not deterred him.

* * *

Ellie finished the last of her meal and wiped her mouth with a napkin. "That hit the spot."

"It sure did," Alan said.

Ellie winced as she stood up. "I think I'm going to take a couple of aspirin. I bought some Advil for you guys, would you like some?"

"I think I'll take one," Lex said.

"Me too," Tim said.

Ellie opened the bottle of the Advil and gave them one each. The children swallowed pills with the last of their milk.

"Alan?" Ellie asked as she poured two aspirin for herself, and then took them with her water.

"No thanks, I think I'm going to take one of those pills the doctor gave me."

"Lex, let's clear the table," Tim said.

"Okay," Lex said and looked between Alan and Ellie. "You and Alan go and relax. We'll get everything put on the cart."

"As you wish, my dear. Let's go out on the patio," Ellie said.

Alan took her hand. "Sounds good to me," It was a beautiful night, he thought, as they walked out on the patio. After the stifling humidity of the island, he found San Jose's climate very pleasant. They sat down on a bench, she propped her head on his shoulder as he put his arm around her. For several minutes, he idly watched the stars overhead, the constellations different from the familiar ones he normally saw at home. "You notice there's not nearly as much humidity here as there was on the island," he said after a few minutes.

Drowsy now, she snuggled closer. "Uh huh, tell me more."

Alan softly laughed and kissed her forehead. "Never mind. Why don't you go ahead and head for bed, I'll get the kids settled in."

"I'm fine where I am. Do we have anything else to do?"

"If we do, it's going to get done tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan to me, Dr. Grant."

They did not speak further; Alan sat and listened to the peaceful night sounds; he thought Ellie had dozed off. Tim and Lex approached; he noticed they had both put on their pajamas.

"Alan, everything's done—is Ellie asleep?" Lex whispered.

To his surprise, Ellie stirred and yawned. "Not yet but give me a few minutes. Thanks for taking care of the dishes."

Lex shrugged and smiled. "We don't mind, we want to help out."

"Well, I'm going to bed," Tim said. "I'm pooped."

"Yeah, me too," Lex said.

"Make that three," Alan said, yawning. "Yawns are contagious, you know that?" He put out his hand for Ellie.

"Say, anybody want the air conditioner on?"

"I don't think so," Tim said.

"Not me, the bedroom isn't hot at all." Lex said.

Alan looked at Ellie who shook her head.

"I'm fine, too. We can turn on the ceiling fan if we need to."

"Okay, then," Alan said.

"Well, I'll see everybody tomorrow. Goodnight, Alan—you too, Tim," Lex said, as she walked into her bedroom.

"Good night, kiddo." Alan said.

"Night, Lex," Tim called out.

"I'll be in there in a minute," Ellie said. "Hey, we need to put the carts outside."

"Oh yeah, that's right. Tim, can you hold the door?" Alan asked.

"Sure." He went and held the door while they pushed the carts out into the hall.

As Alan shut the door and locked up for the night, Tim tossed the sofa cushions in one of the smaller chairs, and then pulled on the strap, which released the bed. He folded the covers back with Ellie's help, and then climbed into bed.

"Well Tim, it looks like you're good to go," Alan said. "I'm going to leave the door open, in case you have to use the bathroom." There was one other reason he was leaving the door open; he expected there would be nightmares. He hoped he would be able to hear Tim if that happened to him.

"Okay… Night, Alan," Tim said.

"Goodnight, Tim," Ellie said.

Ellie followed Alan into his bedroom, and put her arms around his broad shoulders and held him close.

"I wish you didn't have to leave," he whispered.

"Me too, but it's like you said, it's for the best."

"I know, but I don't have to like it," he grumbled.

"Me either." She caressed his cheek. "Oh, and thanks for shaving."

Alan laughed and kissed her. "Night, honey."

* * *

Incessant chirping penetrated Ellie's brain, rousing her from sleep. Reluctantly she opened her eyes to see sunlight streaming through the window. _Bird, please shut up_, she thought, as the racket continued. She loved all species of birds, but not when they woke her up. 

With a sigh, she reached over to the nightstand and picked up her watch; it was eight fifteen. Normally an early riser; in her exhaustion, she had slept much later than she was accustomed to. In fact, she was tempted to go back to sleep, but she knew with the noise the bird was making it would be a futile gesture. In the other bed Lex slept on, unfazed by the noise.

Yawning, Ellie sat up for a moment, and then stretched. She frowned as she stood; her thigh had stiffened up overnight; as a matter-of-fact, she realized she ached in several places. _Time for more aspirin, _she thought. She walked over to the closet, trying to work the tightness out of her thigh. Reaching into the closet she quietly took out the jeans and short-sleeved blouse she planned to wear. She had bought two pairs of jeans and a pair of khakis to go with a few blouses and T-shirts. Joe had advised that Costa Rican culture frowned upon women wearing shorts, and since Ellie always tried to adapt to local customs when she traveled, she had purchased her clothes accordingly.

Ellie entered the bathroom, and began to wash her face, careful not to further injure the scratch on her cheek; then brushed her teeth. She put her contacts in, and as she brushed her hair, she looked closely at her face. With the scratch on her cheek, she looked like the victim of a mugging. She normally did not wear much makeup, but at that moment, she wished she had some. Since she had just showered last night, she did not need to take one now. She thought it might be a good system if she showered at night and Lex showered in the morning.

As she dressed, she mused over yesterday's shopping trip. It had certainly been an unusual experience. The salesperson shadowed them all over the store; she thought the salesperson suspected they were going to shoplift, however, Joe had reassured her they did everyone that way. As they shopped, the clerk had written down the items and sizes they wanted. Only after payment, were the packages given to them. She supposed it discouraged shoplifters, but it seemed like a strange system.

Lex was just waking up when she went back into the bedroom. "Good morning, Lex."

"Morning." Lex looked at the window and frowned. Outside, the bird was still making a commotion. "Jeez, can't that bird be quiet?"

Ellie laughed. "I know; it woke me up too."

Lex stretched and yawned mightily. "What time is it?"

"It's…" She looked at her watch. "Eight thirty five; are you hungry?"

"Big time."

"Me too. If you want to get ready, I'll go check on the guys."

"Okay… Ellie?"

"Yeah?"

"Were you mad when your parents got divorced?"

"I was, for a long time." The night before, she had sensed Lex had wanted to talk to her, but they both had been too tired to say much more than good night.

"Oh, okay…"

"We'll have a long talk about it later, okay?"

"That would be nice."

Ellie crossed into the living room. They had made the sofa; the patio doors were open. Before she went outside, she decided to take two aspirin. Afterwards, she stepped outside into the bright sunlight, and saw Alan at the patio table reading a newspaper. He had dressed in one of his new pair of Levi's and denim shirt; his sleeves already rolled up. He looked up and smiled when he saw her.

Stepping behind him, Ellie slipped her arms around his neck. "Oh rats, I thought I was going to get to wake you up." She leaned around and kissed him on the side of his forehead.

"Missed your chance, I'm afraid." Alan loved how Ellie woke him in the morning, with whispers and soft kisses.

"Sleep well?" she asked, as she sat down in one of the other chairs.

"Like a log. How about you?"

"I did too. I didn't hear anything from Lex so she slept through the night too."

"Tim was fine too; I was afraid we'd all have nightmares."

Ellie suspected that was the real reason for leaving the bedroom door open. "I'm afraid those will still come; I think we were probably all too tired to dream last night. How's your back?"

Alan shrugged. "It hurts, but not as bad as it did yesterday. I guess I'll just have to watch it for the next few days, and not plan to run a marathon. I saw you limping, is your leg bothering you?"

"It's a little stiff, I just took some aspirin. I guess neither one of us will be running that marathon," she said with a laugh. "There's a Jacuzzi by the pool, we should spend some time there tonight."

"That's a good idea."

"Is Tim getting dressed?" she asked.

"Yep."

"Good, Lex is too."

"They delivered a paper this morning, _The Tico Times_, in English no less. Want some?"

"Sure," she said, as Alan handed her some of the paper.

"You know this whole thing with the kids should be awkward and strange, but it feels very natural," Ellie said, hoping to ease him into a discussion about children. Despite her fatigue, she had enjoyed the dinner discussion, and she knew Alan had as well. _Come on Alan, talk to me_, she silently pleaded.

Alan paused, and then nodded slowly. "Yeah, it does—I'm not sure how long the kids will be, I can make us some coffee if you want."

Ellie knew Alan had deliberately changed the subject, and anger and resentment shot through her. If he would just talk to her about why he didn't want children, then she would understand. All he had ever done was make excuses, or avoid the subject altogether as now. She felt there was an underlying reason but he would not even speak of it. She started to have it out with him, but at that moment, Tim walked outside. "I'll get coffee when we eat," she said brusquely.

"Well, I'm ready," Tim said as he came outside. "Where's Lex?"

Ellie abruptly put down the paper. "She's getting ready. I'm going inside to wait for her." She went back into the suite followed by Tim.

Alan winced as she stalked off; he had done it again. _What the hell is the matter with me_, he asked himself angrily. He desperately wanted to tell her he loved her, and explain to her that he did not hate children; that his reaction was because of the guilt he felt every time he came near a child. Only Lex and Tim had managed to break through this barrier.

After a few minutes, Lex walked out onto the patio. "Alan, we're ready."

"Okay, thanks." Alan went back into the suite, and he held the door for the others as they filed into the hall.

"Which way do we go?" Lex asked

"That's a good question. The pool is behind us, so let's try this way," Alan said.

They walked down the hall for a while, and came at last to a sign with the figure of a swimming man, which pointed to their right. "Let me guess," Alan said. "That way to the pool."

"Very good," Lex said, laughing.

They walked outside into the pool area, and Alan saw a long table with various cold cereals, scrambled and boiled eggs, cheeses, toast, and a variety of jams and jellies, fruits and fruit juices along with the obligatory Gallo Pinto. _I guess they eat the stuff for every meal_, he thought as he picked up a tray. He took a plate and helped himself to the scrambled eggs, toast, and fruit.

"Are you going to get the Gallo Pinto again?" Alan asked, trying to judge her mood.

"I think I'm going to pass this time," Ellie responded. Her anger had faded, but some of the underlying frustration remained. She decided she would not continue to press Alan while they were in Costa Rica; it did neither one of them any good in their present situation. However, she knew that eventually they would have to come to grips with the issue.

Alan sensed her anger had lessened. "I think I'm going to give it a try this time. He reached for a bowl and filled it with the Gallo Pinto, which he put on the tray. There was a bottle of _Salsa Lizano_, and taking Ellie's cue from last night, he shook a few drops into the bowl. Afterwards, he poured himself a cup of coffee. He debated getting some orange juice, and then decided against it.

Tim and Lex had already found a table; he and Ellie walked over to it. "Get everything you need?" he asked, as he and Ellie put their trays down on the table.

"Yeah, everything's great," Tim said. He had loaded his plate with scrambled eggs, toast and jam, fruit, milk and orange juice.

"No Gallo Pinto?" Alan asked

Tim scowled. "Yuck."

"Well, I think it's great for breakfast," Lex said.

"And lunch and dinner," Tim said sarcastically.

"I think I want some orange juice after all," Alan said to himself. As he walked off, he could hear the two of them arguing. Some things never change, he thought.

* * *

Hi, Goslin, thanks for you comments! 


	8. Chapter 7

Their breakfast finished, everyone strolled back to their suite and Alan unlocked the door. "I'd better check in with Joe."

"While you do that, I'm going to get that shopping list made out," Ellie said as they filed inside. "Lex, Tim—I'm going to need some ideas from you, okay?"

"Will do," Lex said brightly.

Although they both liked a good steak and Ellie loved seafood, neither of them was fussy about food. The addition of the two children complicated things a bit, but she could adapt. "Alan, have Joe recommend a good grocery store, and a bookstore, too. I think while you're at the embassy, Lex, Tim and I'll grab a taxi and do the grocery shopping. After you get back, we can go to the bookstore."

"Okay, sure." Alan sat down on the couch and took Joe's business card out of his pocket. He dialed the number, and after a few rings, he heard a woman's voice come on the line.

"Good morning; American Embassy, may I help you?

"Joe Reiling, please."

"May I tell him who is calling?"

"Yes, tell him it's Alan Grant."

"Thank you, please hold."

"Thanks."

Alan scowled as canned music assaulted his eardrum. At last, the sounds halted, and Joe came onto the line.

"Good morning, Alan," Joe said.

"Morning, Joe."

"Did you guys sleep well?"

"Sure did. Let me tell you, that bed beats the tree I spent the other night in by a mile."

"How did you end up in a tree?"

"We climbed up there after we got away from the Rex; it was the only safe place around."

"Did you ever go to sleep?"

"I dozed off and on. It's not an experience I'd like to repeat," he said with a laugh.

"I can imagine. I don't think I'd like it either," Joe said, adding his own laughter. "Well, you ready to come down and get that account set up?"

"Yeah, just about; Ellie's making out a grocery list. She's looking for a grocery store and a bookstore that sells guidebooks. Any ideas?"

"I can suggest a couple of good places."

Alan smiled. "I figured you could."

"I live here remember? You know, it's not going to take you long to fill out the paperwork; I can run you guys around afterwards."

"Joe, I don't want to take you away from your other duties."

"Well, per the Ambassador, for the duration you are my duty."

"Oh, really? Then we gladly accept your offer." That would simplify things. He knew he was being overprotective, but he was relieved in a way. Ellie could take care of herself, but neither one of them was familiar with the city.

"Okay then, I'll be there in a bit."

"Sounds good. See you then."

Alan hung up the phone and walked over to the table. "Well, it looks like Joe has been officially appointed our guardian."

Ellie laughed and shook her head. "No kidding."

"Uh huh. He's going to be our chauffer today; so you don't need to worry about the taxi. He knows some good places to shop."

"Good."

"Say, I could stand another cup of coffee, can I get you one?"

"That sounds great."

"Coming up then." He prepared the coffee maker using a packet of coffee the hotel had provided, and then flipped the switch to turn it on. He stood behind Ellie and looked over her shoulder as she filled out the list, one hand perched lightly on her shoulder.

"I bet you guys like peanut butter, right?" Ellie asked the children, as she patted his hand.

"Oh, yeah, we love peanut butter; and jelly, too," Lex said.

She added the items to her list. "I'll be sure to get those."

"Can we get some bananas?" Tim asked.

"Sure thing."

"Good, I like peanut butter and banana sandwiches."

"Okay." _Elvis lives_, she thought.

"And he thinks I'm weird because I eat _Gallo Pinto_ for breakfast," Lex said with a sigh.

"You are weird," Tim said.

Lex started to retort, and Ellie held up her hand, stilling their voices. "Guys we had this argument at breakfast."

"Okay," Tim said with a sheepish smile.

Alan heard the coffee maker gurgle as it finished brewing the coffee. He poured two cups and placed them on the table, along with a packet of creamer the hotel had provided. "Here you go."

"Thanks, that smells wonderful."

"The coffee is world famous you know," Alan said, rolling his eyes as he sat down.

Ellie laughed and handed him the shopping list. "Well, that's all I can think of; take a look and see if you have anything to add."

Alan looked over the extensive list. "Looks like you have it covered. I hope Joe brings the van, otherwise somebody's going to have to ride on the roof."

"I thought of that, too; it might be a couple of young people who keep arguing..." she said with a mischievous grin.

Lex grinned and rolled her eyes.

Alan picked up the paper he had been reading earlier. "Want some of the paper?" he asked Ellie.

"Sure." As Alan handed her the front section, she realized the kids didn't have much to do. "Guys, I know you're bored; you've both been really patient and Alan and I appreciate that." She made a mental note to ask Joe about a game store. She thought a game or two would be fun to have.

"Oh, that's okay, we understand," Lex said. The two children sat on the couch and to kill time, she and her brother began to read the hotel's guidebook.

"I see there's no mention of the accident," Ellie said.

"No, not a word. I didn't expect there would be."

Ellie nodded. "The tourism business must be very important to them; I'm sure they would do anything to protect it."

"That doesn't exactly fill me with optimism, you know?" he said with a frown.

"Me either."

"Hey, it says the hotel has a video game room!" Tim said.

"Well then, when we get some money of our own, you guys can feed the machines," Ellie said.

"Excellent!"

Alan heard a knock on the door but before he could stand up, the two children jumped up and ran to the door. "We'll get it!" Lex said. She beat her brother to the door, and opened it with a rush.

"Hi, Mr. Reiling, come on in," Lex said.

"Greetings all," he said as he walked into the suite.

"Hi there," Ellie said as she put the paper aside.

"Morning, Ellie. You all sure look better than the last time I saw you."

"I'm glad you think so," Ellie said with a laugh. "It's amazing what a little soap and water and some clean clothes can do for you."

"And a good night's sleep, too."

"I hope you brought the van," Alan said. "Ellie's got a long shopping list."

Joe laughed. "Yep, it's mine for as long as I need it. Well, if you're ready, we'll get the show on the road."

"Sounds good to us," Ellie said.

"If you don't mind, I think I'll ride up front with Joe," Alan said to Ellie as they walked to the van with the rest of the group.

"I'll somehow survive your absence," she said in jest.

With a wry grin, he climbed into the passenger seat next to Joe. As had become their habit, the two children scrambled into the back seat and Ellie took the middle seat.

They had not gone that way before and a few blocks from the hotel, Ellie saw an open-air market. If they needed to make any return trips, they could always shop there instead of making Joe cart them around.

Yesterday, as they drove around the city, Alan had been too exhausted to notice much of anything, but today he looked closely at the passing scenery. San José was very much a large urban area, with the traffic and smog to match, he realized. "You know, I haven't traveled that much in Central America, but Costa Rica doesn't fit the stereotype of the region at all." The image he had received from the media was one of poverty and strife.

Joe nodded. "It's not a rich country by American standards, but by Central American standards, it's the model for the rest of the region," Joe said. "They dissolved the army in 1949 after the civil war--"

"Except for the National Guard of course," Ellie said; Alan's run-in with them was still fresh in her mind.

"True," Joe said. "Because they don't have a large standing army, they can spend money on social services instead. You've already found out how good the medical care is."

That was true, now that she thought about it; the hospital had been spotless, well staffed, and equipped.

"The country is pretty safe, pickpockets are a problem, especially in crowded areas, but that's about the worst crime you'll find."

Alan would have to be careful with his wallet if they found themselves in such a situation. The last thing he needed was to get it stolen. "We'll remember that."

Joe nodded. "The roads could stand some work; a jeep or four-wheel drive is a necessity on many of the rural roads. Politically the country is stable. The president was instrumental in getting the Central American peace accords signed."

"And was given the Nobel Peace Prize I recall," Alan said.

"Right. He's a good man, and I admire him very much. It's a pity he can't run again."

"Term limits?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah, just like the US."

Joe reminded Ellie of Alan when he was teaching or lecturing. He had the same sure way of imparting the facts. "You should be a teacher."

Joe laughed. "Actually, I almost did become a history teacher, but my career went in a whole different direction. I'd still like to teach at some point."

"You'd be a good one," Ellie said. "You said a lot of American's have moved here."

Joe nodded. "Retirees and entrepreneurs mostly. The cost of living is much lower than in the states, so someone could move down here, buy property, and live very comfortably on Social Security. It's also a very attractive area for people to come in and start a business; especially travel related ventures. For the last few years, the tourist industry has been their most lucrative business, even bigger than coffee production."

Alan nodded. "Interesting." He quickly glanced backwards towards Ellie, and their eyes met. Their earlier conversation mirrored what Joe had said. "Say, does New Zealand have an embassy here?"

"No, they don't. Why?"

"Well, I have dual citizenship and I was hoping both countries could gang up on them and get us out of here."

Joe chuckled. "Well, it was worth the thought. Alan, not to change the subject, but the Costa Ricans want to see you at ten tomorrow morning."

Alan sighed. Until that moment, he had managed to put the meeting out of his mind. "Okay… Hey, I talked to Lynda Murphy last night," Alan said keeping his voice low. "She's almost finished with her divorce proceedings, so we're keeping Lex and Tim until she wraps everything up."

"That's good of you to do that."

Alan shrugged. "I don't mind having them around; but don't tell anybody—it'll ruin my reputation."

"Too late, I heard that," Ellie said, patting him on the shoulder.

Alan slapped the armrest. "Damn."

The three adults laughed as they pulled up to a guard station. "Well, we're here," Joe said. After showing his identification to the Marine on duty, he drove into the basement-parking garage of the embassy.

"Okay, let's get that paperwork done," Joe said as they walked to an elevator; after everyone had entered, he pushed the first floor button.

"I haven't seen Muldoon or Gennaro around," Alan said. "Olvera said they were staying at the hotel, right?"

"Yeah, they are. I was told they were going down to talk to Olvera this morning."

"You know, you'd better put a handler on Gennaro. He's liable to bolt," Alan said.

"You think so?"

"Yeah, I do. He knows more about InGen than anyone; I bet they would love to get him out of the country. I'm sure he has a lot of contacts who would help him out—for the right price." Alan wondered who would run the company now that Hammond was gone. Whoever it was had a mess on their hands.

"You might be right… I'll mention your concerns to Pauley; unfortunately, we have restrictions on what we can do legally. This whole situation is one big fat mess; everybody's trying to cover their rear ends. InGen is worried about the litigation they know will come from the victims and the Costa Rican government. Since it was an American company, Washington's worried they'll have to help pay for the cleanup. The Costa Ricans are terrified word will get out and their tourist industry will be damaged."

"And we're right in the middle," Ellie said.

"Yeah, you are," Joe said, a frown on his face.

The three fell into a gloomy silence; after a few seconds, the elevator opened into a large room. Separated by a long counter, the room looked to Alan like a typical government office.

"Alan, we'll wait over there," Ellie said as she pointed to some chairs in the waiting area.

"Okay."

Ellie, Lex, and Tim hiked over and sat down in the chairs to await his return.

"Ellie, I don't think I want to grow up—too many forms to fill out," Lex said as she watched Alan approach the counter.

"Me either," Tim said as he picked up a magazine from the coffee table.

Ellie laughed loudly. "Lex, I don't blame you a bit, it's a real pain sometimes." She spotted a two-week-old Time on the table, and she picked it up and began to read. During the summer field season, with no television and only local radio stations, they all tended to become oblivious to the outside world. Someone occasionally brought a local paper back from town, but that mainly informed them of local news. It was only when they got back to Denver did they catch up with world events.

"Alan, while you're filling out the paperwork, I'm going to check my messages, and call Pauley," Joe said. "He wanted me to let him know when you got here."

"Okay, we'll be here." He quickly filled out the forms, signed, and dated them, then took the documents back to the clerk.

"Thank you, sir." She looked at the name on the paper and smiled. "Oh yes, the Ambassador asked us to expedite your request. If you've made arrangements for the transfer, you should be able to withdraw funds tomorrow afternoon."

"That's being done this morning."

"Excellent, have a good day, sir."

Alan nodded, and walked over to where the others were sitting.

"All done?" Ellie asked.

"All done. We're supposed to wait here for Joe; he was going to check in with the boss." Alan sat down; picked up a magazine and began to read.

"Alan, Tim and I've decided we don't want to grow up," Lex said.

"Oh yeah, why not?" he asked curiously.

"There's too much paperwork involved," Tim said.

"I think you have the right idea," he muttered under his breath.

The group was reading as Joe approached. "Well, if you're ready, the Ambassador would like to say hello."

"Lead on," Alan said.

Joe led them back to the elevator and pressed the button for the ninth floor. Arriving at that floor, the door opened and they walked into a spacious reception area.

"Good morning, Joe," the secretary said.

"Hi, Carla, the Ambassador wants to see me."

"Right… I'll tell him you're here; he said you'd have guests." The woman smiled at Alan and dialed an extension.

Drawn to a painting on the wall, Alan walked over to look closer at the artwork. He was no art expert, but the landscape was intriguing and beautiful.

Ellie saw the woman check him out as he walked, an appreciative smile on her face. _You're out of luck_, she thought, _he's all mine_. It had taken her a while to get used to the looks Alan received, and she had to admit she was possessive of him. With his trim figure, sharply drawn face, those intelligent, ever shifting blue eyes, and that wry ironic grin, it was no surprise that women were attracted to him, including some of his female students, she thought ruefully. To his credit, although he must have been aware of it, she had never seen him respond. She decided to have some fun, and she walked over to Alan, put her hand on his back, and caressed it, careful to avoid the bruised area. At the same time, she casually looked at the woman who frowned, then turned back to her work. Point made, she turned back to the painting. "It's beautiful."

"It is," Alan said.

Joe had come over to look at the artwork as well. "This one is new, I don't recognize the artist."

"Joe, I'm shocked," Alan said with a grin.

"Hey, I don't know everything about Costa Rica," he said.

Alan laughed and clapped him on the back.

"Well, here are our castaways," Pauley said as he approached. "Good morning, everyone."

"Ambassador," Alan said, shaking his hand.

"You all look well."

"We feel a lot better," Alan said

"Joe said you had an idea about the US and New Zealand teaming up to help you out."

"Unfortunately, I think I struck out on that idea."

"Were you born there?"

Alan briefly gave him his background.

"Ah, I see," Pauley said. "It's a beautiful country. I took my family there on vacation once; the skiing on Coronet Peak is amazing."

"That it is. I keep telling my friends back in Colorado that." Alan chuckled. "Hey, thanks for loaning us Joe, he's been a big help." He started to ask if there were any new developments, but he knew what the answer would be.

"I'm glad to do that." He looked at his watch, and sighed. "Well, I have to run to a meeting, I just wanted to say hello. Joe you'll keep me up to date, right?"

"Yes, sir."

_I Wonder if the meeting has anything to do with us_, Alan thought. _I bet it does..._

"Have a good day, folks," Pauley said.

"You too, Ambassador," Ellie said as he hurried away. She had a hunch the meeting might have something to do with the park disaster.

"Well, now that we have all the boring official stuff taken care of, is everybody ready to spend some money?"

"Yeah, might as well," Alan said.

"Okay, let's go hit the mall first," Joe said.

"Oh, joy," Alan muttered. Malls were possibly his least favorite man made place on earth.

"Shhh," Ellie said with a chuckle as they walked into the elevator. They went down the elevator and out into the garage. Alan once again got in beside Joe, and Lex and Tim crawled back to the rear seat.

As they rode to the mall, Ellie found herself squinting out the window into the bright sunlight. "I need to get some sunglasses." She had abandoned her sunglasses, along with the rest of her belongings in the rush to escape from the island.

"Yeah, I could use a new pair, too," Alan said.

"Oh, yeah… Joe, do you know where a game store is?" Ellie asked. "I'd like to pick up a couple of things for Lex and Tim."

"There's a game and toy store next door to the bookstore."

"Oh, good."

The group fell silent and after several minutes, they pulled into the mall's parking lot. Ellie had not known exactly what to expect, but from the outside, it looked like any other mall she had seen.

"The bookstore is down that way," Joe said as they entered the mall.

They walked down the concourse until they came to the bookstore. His attention drawn to the game store next door, Tim looked at Ellie with begging eyes. "We'll go there next," Ellie assured him.

Tim's face lit up with happiness. "Okay."

As they entered the store, Joe stopped. "I think I'll hang out at the magazines while you shop."

Alan nodded. "I think I'll head over there, too. Guys, pick out a book or two that you like," Alan said to the two children.

"Okay, come on Lex," Tim said as they scattered to look around.

"I'm going to go take a look at the guide books," Ellie said.

Alan nodded and walked over to the magazine section with Joe. There was a surprisingly large selection and he selected several newsmagazines and a scientific journal as well. He next went over to the paper back section and was glad to see they had several Louis L'Amour books. He was a big fan of the author, and he was happy to find several stories he had not read. He decided to get one book; if they finished their books, they could always come back for more. Book and magazines in hand he went in search of Ellie.

* * *

Tim was not sure what kind of book he wanted, so he began to walk slowly up and down the aisles, until he came to the science fiction section. Although he was only in the fifth grade, he read at a much higher level and found children's books boring. He looked at the titles, occasionally reading a summary on the back of one of the books. At last he chose one; as he walked back to find the others, he found himself in the reference section. He stopped suddenly when he spotted a large world atlas, an idea forming in his mind. Tim smiled to himself and pulled the book off the shelf. Too big for him to look at standing up, he sat down and opened the atlas across his lap. Looking in the table of contents, he saw a section on New Zealand. Eagerly he turned the pages to find what he was looking for. 

There were several guidebooks about Costa Rica, Ellie observed. Searching for one specifically about San José, she took a book off the shelf and began to scan it, looking for information about museums and children's activities in the city.

"May I help you with something?"

Ellie gasped, dropped the book, spun around, and unconsciously assumed a defensive position, prepared to defend herself from the unknown threat. She was embarrassed to realize it was a woman who had spoken.

"I'm very sorry _Señora_; I didn't mean to startle you," the woman said in surprise.

Alan walked around the corner to see Ellie jump back, her expression equal parts fear and alarm. "Ellie, honey, are you okay?" He went to her side and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Ellie pressed her hand against her chest to steady her pounding heart, and then took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you come up," she said to the woman.

The woman nodded slowly, and then picked up the book Ellie had dropped.

Ellie pressed on, trying to both calm herself and reassure the woman. "I'm looking for a guidebook on San José. Do you have any recommendations?"

The woman pulled a book off the shelf, and handed it to her. "I personally think the Frommer's is the best one."

"Well, then that's the one I'll get," she said with what she hoped was a reassuring smile. To her relief the woman returned her smile.

"Very well, _Señora_. If you need any further assistance please let me know."

"I will; thank you very much. I'm sorry I jumped like that."

"That's quite all right."

As the woman walked off, Ellie sagged against Alan.

"Hey, what happened?"

"I don't know," she said softly. "One minute I was looking at the book, and then the next minute I was backed up against the bookshelf." Bewildered, she shook her head, and then took another deep breath. "Well, now that my heart is beating normally, I think I can move again. What did you get?"

"I got a Time, a Newsweek, Scientific American, and…" he held up the paperback. He was not at all sure Ellie was okay. She was not the type easily startled or frightened, but what he had saw had gone far beyond that. He suspected her reaction was the direct result of their trauma, and he shuddered to think what other symptoms would appear… in all of them.

"Louis L'Amour, your favorite."

He tried to shake off his mood. "Yep, do you want to get something else?"

"Yeah, I want to get something light to read."

"Oh, you mean one of your bodice rippers?"

"Please, they're called romances." She liked nothing better than to grab a bowl of ice cream and a romance novel after a long grading session.

"Naw—Bodice rippers."

"Oh, Alan," she said, with a laugh as she smacked him on the arm.

Alan could tell his teasing had helped her relax, which had been the idea. Before he could say anything else, Lex approached.

"Hey there, did you find something to read?" Ellie asked.

"Yep." Lex showed them the book she had selected.

"Good deal. Has anybody seen Tim?" Alan asked.

"I saw him in the back looking at something," Lex said.

"I'll go check on him." He walked towards the back of the store. "Tim?" he called out.

"I'm over here."

Alan wasn't sure where the boy's voice had come from. "Where's here?"

"The third row."

Alan found Tim sitting on the floor, a large atlas open on his lap.

Tim looked up and proudly smiled. "I know where New Zealand is."

Alan grinned at the boy. "You do? That's great."

Tim clambered to his feet and showed Alan the map that he had been looking at. "New Zealand is really small."

Alan put his hand under the atlas and held one side while they looked. "Uh huh, I told you it was."

"There's two islands, right?"

"Yep, the North Island and the South Island; I'm sure they thought long and hard to come up with the names."

Tim giggled. "What city are you from?"

"I'm from Wellington; it's the capital."

Tim looked at the map and pointed. "Here it is."

"Very good."

Ellie and Lex found Alan and Tim engrossed in an atlas. "I bet you know where New Zealand is," Ellie said.

"Yeah," Tim said with a big smile.

"Great! Did you get a book to read?" Ellie asked.

"I got a science fiction book."

"Good deal. Well, is everybody ready?" Alan asked as he put the atlas back on the shelf.

"I think we are," Ellie said.

"Looks like a successful trip," Joe said, as they walked up to him.

"I think these will keep us occupied for a bit," Alan said.

They walked up to the checkout counter, and Ellie started to get out a credit card, but Alan gently put his hand over hers. "My turn."

Ellie nodded and patted his hand. "Okay."

Alan paid for the books and magazines, and the clerk packaged up the items.

"Can we go to the game store now?" Tim asked anxiously.

"That's the next stop on the tour," Joe said. He was disturbed to see Tim flinch at his words. "Tim, I'm sorry if I said something wrong."

Tim shrugged. "It reminded me of what the man on the tour said…before the Rex came. I'm okay now."

"All right, then."

"What would you guys like to get?" Ellie asked, as they walked next door.

"Can we get a jigsaw puzzle?" Lex asked.

"Yeah, that would be fun," Tim said.

"That's an excellent idea." Ellie thought a board game might be fun as well, but she knew Alan did not like them. She decided to suggest getting one anyway; maybe she could get him to play. "Do you guys like Monopoly?"

"Oh yeah, we do," Lex said with a smile which quickly faded. "We haven't played much lately, though."

"Well, we'll play with you, won't we Alan?"

Ellie saw the look on Alan's face and almost laughed; his expression was identical to when he had first seen the two children.

"Ellie," he said firmly.

Ellie put her arm around his waist. "Humor me—it'll be fun," she whispered into his ear.

Alan grunted, and then slowly nodded. "All right, just this once," he said, breaking into a smile; he had always had a hard time saying no to her.

"Thank you," she said as she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

A clerk approached them as they entered the store. "May I help you?"

"Yes, do you have an English version of Monopoly?" Ellie asked.

"Yes, we do; if you will please follow me."

It had been years since Alan had been in a toy store and he was amazed at the variety of toys available, even here in Costa Rica. "I'm jealous. They didn't have half this many toys and games when I was growing up."

"Alan, was that during the Stone Age?" Lex asked.

"No Lex, that was during the Jurassic Age," Tim said.

"Well, I never," he said in mock outrage and gently grabbed the two chortling children around the neck, and then gave them an affectionate pat on the back.

"Here is the game you're looking for, _Señora_," the woman said, as she handed Ellie the box.

"This is exactly what we're looking for," Ellie said. "_Gracias_."

Alan inwardly cringed as Ellie took the game; he hated board games with a passion; probably because he hated to lose. Oh well, he thought, he would survive this, too. "We're also interested in a jigsaw puzzle."

"Certainly, _Señor_, we have several. Please follow me," the woman said with a smile. She led them to another section of the store where they found a large display of jigsaw puzzles.

"Lex, how about this one?" Tim asked, holding up a puzzle box.

"No, I don't think I like that one. What about this one?" Lex held up a 1500 piece puzzle with a picture of several Labrador puppies.

"Oh, okay, that one's neat," Tim said. "We'd like this one."

"How cute," Ellie said. She turned towards the clerk and smiled. "I think we're done."

"Very good, _Señora_, I'll check you out now, if you wish."

"Thank you," she said.

"You think between the books, games, and puzzles you'll stay busy?" Ellie asked as they walked to the checkout counter.

"I think so," Lex said.

"We'll have to see what we can stir up here in the city, too," Alan said.

"There are several museum's in the city," Joe said.

"Good, I was hoping there were some," Ellie said.

"And we'll get to swim—eventually," Tim said.

"That's right," Ellie said.

Once again, Alan paid for the purchases. As they walked down the concourse, Alan realized he was getting hungry. "You guys want to get something to eat?"

"Yeah, that sounds good," Ellie said.

"Me, too," Lex said.

"I believe I could stand some nourishment, too," Joe said. "There's a food court of sorts at the other end of the mall, let's head down that way."

Ellie began to smell food as they walked further down the concourse. "Something smells good." She saw a dining area off to the side with tables and chairs. "Why don't I grab us a table. We can unload our packages, and I'll keep an eye on them. Alan, pick out something for me, okay?"

"Will do," Alan said with a grin.

They deposited their packages around the table and Ellie sat down, grateful for the chance to get off her feet. The truth was she still felt weary and her thigh was beginning to ache again; she figured she needed one more good night's sleep before she was fully back to normal. She could not tell about Alan's back; so far, he seemed to be moving easily.

Alan looked at the menu posted on the wall, which was in Spanish. "Joe, I think we're going to need a translator." He understood a word here and there but that was all.

Joe chuckled. "No problem. I have no idea why this one area doesn't have the menu in English, when the rest of the mall is geared towards Americans. It's very strange."

"What's an _empañadas_?" Lex asked Joe, pronouncing the word slowly.

"Well, it's like a turnover. You can get it stuffed with just about anything; meat, potatoes, cheese, beans."

"Hmm," she said. "Okay…"

"_Patacones_?" Alan asked.

"Plantain, sliced thin and fried."

"Oh, okay, I've had that." He and Ellie had gone to Jamaica earlier in the year on vacation and had a similar dish.

"What's a plantain?" Tim said.

"It's related to the banana plant," Alan said. "It tastes like fried potatoes when it's cooked like that."

Tim pulled a face, which made the two men smile. "I tell you what, Tim, I'll get an order, and you can try it out," Alan said.

"Can I try it, too?" Lex asked.

"You sure can."

Lex smiled sweetly. "Thanks, Alan."

He did not quite know what to think about the crush Lex had on him, so he tried to ignore it.

"I bet I know something everybody will like; _elote asado_."

"What's that?" Tim asked.

"It's roasted corn on the cob, they also have it boiled, but I think roasted is better."

"Now that sounds _really_ good," Tim said.

"Let me see, _arroz con pollo_—something with chicken right?" Alan asked.

"Right. Think chicken fried rice."

Alan nodded. "Ahh, gotcha. That's what I'll get us, and we'll split an order of the plantain, too."

"I think I want one of those _empañadas_ with meat and cheese, and some of the corn," Tim said.

"I'd like the same, but without meat," Lex said. "Can I get it stuffed with cheese and potatoes?"

"Sure, I'll tell them that," Joe said. "There's one more thing you guys need to try; _refrescos,_" Joe said."They are fantastic drinks; it's a bit like a milk shake with fruit."

Joe asked the woman working behind the counter a question, and she rapidly answered in Spanish. "She has mango, pineapple, papaya, and lemon flavors."

"Okay, we'll get one of those, too," Alan said. "Two mangos for us."

"Lemon for me, please," Lex said.

"Me, too," Tim said.

Joe placed the order and told Alan how much it would be. Alan was still trying to get the hang of the currency; after a few moments, he handed him some money to pay for their meals. "You do it; the food will get cold by the time I get it sorted out," Alan said.

Joe laughed, then paid and gave him the change. As they waited for the food, Alan looked over at Ellie and grinned. She wondered what he was going to get for her.

Soon the woman came back. "Señor?" she said to Joe. They went up to the counter to get their food; Joe said something in Spanish to the woman then turned to Lex. "This one's for you, Lex—cheese and potatoes." He handed the plate and drink to Lex.

"Thanks, Mr. Reiling."

"Here you go, Tim," Alan said, handing him his food and drink. There were no trays, so he would have to make two trips for their food.

"Okay, thanks," Tim said. The two youngsters carried their plates and drinks to the table where Ellie waited.

Alan spotted a bottle of _Salsa Lizano _on the counter. That might be good on the chicken; it had been good on the Gallo Pinto, he thought. He knew Ellie would like some on her food, so he sprinkled some on both of their dishes. Afterwards, Alan carried the two plates to the table.

"Chicken fried rice?" Ellie asked.

"Sort of. That's not all, I'll be right back," he said with a mysterious smile. Ellie wondered what he was up to.

Alan returned to the counter and picked up the plantain dish along with their drinks, then walked back to the table. "Remember this?" he asked, as he set the dish on the table between them.

Ellie looked at the dish, and laughed, then looked up with a fond smile of remembrance. "I sure do." It had been a wonderful trip, just the two of them, without a care in the world. They had snorkeled, and lay on the beach for hours at a time. Although they had spent the Christmas holidays with her family; that trip, coming six months after they had come together romantically, had been the first one they had taken that was not business related. She had called it their "six month anniversary trip."

Tim looked at the plantains, a skeptical look on his face.

"Want to try one?" Alan asked.

"I guess so," Tim said hesitantly.

"Go ahead; you too, Lex."

Tim reluctantly took a slice; Lex was a little less hesitant; Alan noticed.

Alan glanced at the two other adults at the other table; they were both watching the children. They took small bites and chewed for a moment, then suddenly looked up as one, smiling broadly. "Hey, that's good!" Tim said.

"Oh, wow, that's fantastic," Lex said.

"See, I told you. You want an order?" Alan asked.

"Tim, want to share an order?" she asked.

"Yeah, that would be great, Tim responded.

"I'll get it. I want to try out my Spanish," Alan said. He stood up too fast, and winced as his back suddenly tightened up.

Ellie noticed the wince but did not say anything; she knew he hated to be babied. She watched him walk to the counter, his posture stiffer than normal.

"His back's still bothering him, isn't it?" Joe asked.

"Yeah, more than he's letting on. I just hope it's not worse than a bruise."

"Hopefully he'll go back to the doctor if it is."

_When hell freezes over_, she thought, as she watched Alan gesture to the woman and point to the menu.

"You think he can pull it off?" he said.

"I wouldn't bet against him."

A few minutes later Alan came back with a plate of plantain, a big smile on his face. "Here you go guys." He set the plate before Lex and Tim.

"Wow, thanks, Alan," Lex said.

"Anytime kiddo," Alan said.

They all settled down and began to eat in earnest. The food was filling, and the _refrescos _delicious.

"Ellie, when we go to the grocery store can we get some of these plantain things?" Tim asked.

"We sure can," Ellie said.

"They make them a lot of different ways here," Joe said. "Baked, fried, mashed; probably other ways, too."

"They have a lot of potassium, too," Ellie said.

"Really? I wonder if you can buy them back home?" Lex asked.

"Maybe so," Ellie said. "It would be worth trying to find, wouldn't it."

"Yeah, definitely."

They finished their meals and picked up their packages, and retraced their steps back to the exit of the mall; then climbed in with their bags for the drive to the grocery store.

"I think I'll ride with you this time," Alan said to Ellie. He sat down in the middle seat, and Alan put his arm around her shoulders.

"Well, to what do I owe this honor?" she asked

"Oh, I just thought I'd ride with my lady," he said, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

Ellie knew why he wanted to sit with her. "Hey, I'm okay," she said as she patted him on the leg. "It was just a momentary thing." She was not sure that was right, though; the truth was she had felt jumpy and uneasy since they had arrived on the mainland. She did not want Alan to have to worry about her; he had enough on his plate without that.

The episode in the bookstore had scared him more than he wanted to admit. He was worried about her; he was worried about all of them, but he was at a loss about what to do other than put as little stress on her as possible.

The group walked to their van, their grocery shopping completed. There was storage space in the back of the van, and they began to transfer the sacks from the cart, and then everyone climbed into the van.

* * *

The grocery store was modern and well stocked, and the bill was reasonable for the amount of food they had bought, Ellie thought. As a bonus, the money Joe had loaned them more than covered it with some left over. She felt confident about the meals they had to feed the kids, especially Lex. She might have to prepare an extra vegetable dish or two for her, but everything else would remain pretty much the same. She opened a small sack and pulled out the two new pair of sunglasses she and Alan had bought. "Alan, here's your sunglasses," she said. She peeled the price sticker off hers and wiped the lenses off. "Much better," she said as she put them on.

"Thanks." He did as Ellie had done and put his on. "Now if I just had my hat," he complained.

Joe laughed. "What happened to it?" He saw Alan's smile fade.

"I lost it," Alan said.

* * *

gallimimus2005-I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Thanks so much for the comments! 

Future Ex-Mrs. Malcolm- Thanks for reading. I really wanted to have Malcolm in there, and tried several different angles to make it work with him there, but it just didn't work. :-( I haven't had a chance to do much reading lately, but as soon as I get a chance I'm going to dive into your stories on the JPA forum. The little bit I've read is fantastic.

stocktonwood-Thanks as always for the comments!


	9. Chapter 8

Alan unlocked the door to their suite, and held it for Joe and the others. As he passed the phone, he saw the message light blinking. "Looks like we have a message." While he pressed the extension for the front desk, Joe pushed a borrowed luggage cart, laden with their groceries, into the kitchen.

"Front desk, this is Manuel."

"Manuel, this is Alan Grant in suite five. I see we have a message."

"Yes, sir, Dr. Sattler's mother called. She said the transfer is on the way."

"Thanks, I'll let her know."

"Have a good afternoon."

"You, too." Alan hung up the phone. "Abbey called; the transfer is on the way."

"Good, I'll call her later," Ellie said as she began to put away the groceries.

"Need some help?" he asked.

"No, I've got it covered," she said.

"All right."

"Alan, can we start on the puzzle?" Lex asked.

"Sure…" He looked at the table for a moment. "You know, we'll need to use the table for meals. I think we need a flat piece of cardboard. Come on, let's go talk to the front desk and see if they have a spare piece we can use."

"Okay, sounds like a plan to me," Lex said.

"Be back in a minute," he said to Ellie.

Ellie laughed and shook her head in amazement as they left the room.

"What is it?" Joe asked.

"Alan Grant, the man who hates children," she said, as she set the milk in the refrigerator.

"Him? He's great with kids."

"I know." Ellie shook her head again. "I know."

Ellie stopped, turned, and faced Joe. Although she had only known him for a couple of days, she felt she could trust him to be honest with her. "Joe, how long do you think they'll keep us here?"

"Ellie, I don't know," he said. "I wish I could give you a better answer. Pauley told me this morning that they don't blame Alan for what happened. He's been trying every angle he can; but there's no reasoning with them right now. If we just had some leverage over them."

"I'm worried about Alan; I know he doesn't want to talk to them about Isla Nublar."

"You know, it might be best to talk about everything."

"Not Alan, especially to strangers. He's a private man, sometimes I have a hard time getting him to open up to me." Especially about the subject of children, she thought. "You know, except for what he told them yesterday, other than a couple of offhand comments; he hasn't said a word about what happened." She could say the same about herself; she had to admit. "Everything's locked up inside his head, and tomorrow they're going to drag it out of him. I want to be there to support him."

"So go, I'll watch the kids."

"Would you? That would be wonderful."

"Sure, I don't mind."

"Thanks..." Her mind eased, she turned back to the groceries. A few seconds later, the door opened and the children and Alan entered, toting a large piece of cardboard.

"Success..." Alan said. He placed the cardboard on the table, and Lex and Tim sat down and eagerly began to open the puzzle box.

"Sure you don't need any help?" Alan asked Ellie.

"Nope, why don't you and Joe grab a beer and go out on the patio?" They had bought a six-pack of Imperial beer, a Costa Rican brand, at Joe's recommendation.

"Joe, I think Ellie's tossing us outside," Alan said.

Joe laughed and glanced at his watch. "I'd love a beer, but I'd better get back to the embassy. Pauley was meeting with the Costa Ricans this afternoon, and I want to see what happened. I'll give you a call if anything has changed."

Alan had thought the meeting somehow concerned to Jurassic Park. "Thanks for running us around today."

"Hey, it was my pleasure; I'll talk to you later. Bye, kids."

"Bye, Mr. Reiling," Tim said.

Alan shut and locked the door, and then walked back into the kitchen. "Want a beer?" he asked Ellie.

"I'd love one; they're in the fridge."

As he reached into the refrigerator for the beer bottles, he realized they needed a bottle opener. "I hope there's an opener around here," he said as he started to open the drawers.

"Try the second one; I think I saw one in there."

"Ah… here we go." He snapped the caps off the bottles and handed one to her. "Well, I'll be on the patio."

"I'll be out there in a few minutes."

As she took a drink of the beer, Ellie thought about what Joe had said earlier. He was right; leverage was what they needed, but what could they do? They were just scientists; they weren't rich, and though Alan had become a reluctant celebrity after the discovery of the hadrosaur eggs, he was not famous in the traditional sense of the word. _There must be something_, she thought, as she returned to her task.

* * *

Alan watched as a few yards away, a few of the hotel guests swam and played in the pool. He dreaded tomorrow, all he wanted to do was to forget about the whole mess, and go home. He roughly lifted the beer bottle and gulped a swallow of beer, then stared at the pool again.

Ellie stepped outside, and watched Alan drink his beer, the frustration obvious in his abrupt movements. "Alan?" When he did not reply, she walked up to him and gently put her hand on his shoulder.

Alan looked up, startled. "Hey… Finished the groceries?"

She nodded and sat down in one of the other chairs. "Uh huh, we won't starve now." She rubbed her neck, stiff with tension and worry.

He stood behind her, and began to knead her neck muscles. "I can help with that."

She gratefully tipped her head forward. "Oh, that feels good, don't stop."

"Anything you say..."

"Joe and I were talking while you were gone; he said we needed some leverage to force them to let us go," she said.

"He's right, but I can't think of anything that could help us."

"I can't either… I hope we'll think of something. You know, we'd better decide what we're going to do with our classes."

"Yeah… I've been thinking about that. I think I'm going to get Dix to teach the Geo212 class until we get back. It's a freshman course, so he'd better be able to handle it. If he can't, I've been doing a lousy job teaching him." Alan laughed shortly. "What are you going to do with your Paleobotany class?"

She rubbed her jaw thoughtfully. "Well, I think I'm going to let Jan take it."

Alan nodded. "Good choice." The phone began to ring and glancing at his watch, he quickly estimated the time it would take Ben to drive to Great Falls and back. "That might be Ben," he said.

"You're probably right."

They went into the living room and as he sat down, Alan picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey," Ben said. "Well, you'll have clothes in a couple of days and the money is on the way, too."

"Good deal, thanks a lot, my friend. I owe you a steak dinner."

"You wouldn't if you knew how much the shipping cost."

Alan heard Ben laugh in that short sharp way of his, and at that moment, Alan realized just how much he missed his friends. "That bad?"

"Oh, yeah."

Alan scowled. "Then don't tell me how much it was until we get back."

"All right. Let me write that down though; Alan owes me a steak dinner."

Alan laughed. "We've come up with a solution to our teaching problems. I'm going to get Dix to handle the Geo212 class, and Ellie's going to get Jan Thompson to take her botany class."

"That'll work…"

"You know, you're going to be short two drivers going home," he said regretfully.

"I'm working on a solution for that. Don't let that get you down."

"Ben, the dig's my responsibility. No matter what the reason, I feel like I'm letting you down." He looked at Ellie and frowned.

"You're not letting me down. You didn't create this mess."

Alan did not answer; no matter what Ben said, everything that happened in Montana was his responsibility.

"I just saw Dix and Jan walk by if you want to talk to them."

It had been getting so hot that they had begun working before dawn under floodlights to finish in the early afternoon. "Yeah, sure, we can talk to them now." Dix was in charge of the E-Saurus excavation. Alan liked to get his PhD candidates some authority to give them a taste of the responsibility they would have as full professors and researchers. He had done the same with Ellie.

"Hang on a minute; I'll go find them."

"Great…" Alan told Ellie what Ben had said about the clothes and wire. "He's looking for Dix and Jan."

Ellie nodded. "Oh, good." She had intended for Jan, a promising graduate student, to teach one or two individual classes that fall, and they had already gone over the lesson plans for the semester. She would get more experience than she had bargained for, Ellie thought.

Alan noticed the children had been quiet, which he appreciated. At that moment, Tim looked at him and smiled. "More grownup stuff," Alan said.

"Oh, that sucks."

"Sure does, Tim." Through the phone, Alan heard the trailer door open and close.

"Dr. Grant?"

"Yeah, Dix."

"Hi. Ben said you wanted to talk to me."

"Yeah, Ellie and I have a problem. We're stuck in Costa Rica, and we may not make it back before the term starts."

"That's too bad… Ben told us about the delay."

"It's turning into a longer delay than we thought. So…we would like you and Jan to cover our classes until we get back."

"The Geo212 class? Sure, I can do that. Your lesson plans are still here, right?"

"Yeah, they're in my desk by the lab table."

"I'll take them back to Denver with me."

Alan hated to throw the class on his PhD candidate. That summer, Dix had formulated a promising dissertation subject, which he would begin to write that fall. He would be a busy young man, and though Alan had planned on him teaching a couple of classes, he was mainly to work on his dissertation. Jan was busy with her Masters courses as well as writing her thesis. "I wanted you to teach a couple of classes, but this wasn't what I had in mind," he said with a laugh.

Dix laughed as well. "Well, since it's the intro course I'd better know it."

"You got that right, buster." Parker Dixon or Dix to his friends was what Ben called a homegrown paleo, having started under Alan as an undergrad. He was a good kid, and had a promising future.

"Ben said you didn't know how long you would be there," Dix said.

"Nope, right now we don't have a clue."

"Jeez, that blows. Everybody misses you and Dr. Sattler."

"We miss you guys too; I can guarantee you I'd rather be in Montana right now."

"I bet."

"Go ahead pack the lesson plans up." Alan did not have much hope that they would be leaving anytime soon. "Let me give you our number here. If you have any questions, call us collect."

"We'll do that. Fire away..."

Alan gave Dix their number. "Well, I think Dr. Sattler wants to talk to Jan."

"I hope you guys get back soon."

"Me too, Dix; I'll talk to you later."

"Talk to you then."

Alan handed the phone to Ellie.

"Dr. Sattler?" Jan said.

"Hi, Jan."

"Hi… How are you?"

"Good… I need a big favor, we're stuck here for awhile, and I'd like you to cover my Paleobotany class for me." Ellie knew Jan could handle it. She had done well in her Masters classes, and she was to be her teaching assistant that fall.

"Oh sure, I'll be glad to do that."

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

"Are your lesson plans still in the desk?"

"In the top drawer... Dr. Grant gave Dix our number, so give me a call if you have any questions."

"I'll do that."

"Well, I'd better let you go before the nickel runs out."

"Okay, Dr. Sattler. Talk to you later."

"Bye, Jan."

Ellie gave the phone back to Alan, which he placed into its cradle. "Well, that's one problem solved. I wish they were all that easy to fix."

"I do too…," he said.

Ellie saw Lex yawn. "Tired?" she asked.

"A little bit."

"I feel the same way," she said. "You know, I think I'm going to take a nap."

"That is a good idea," Alan said. "Tim, what about you?"

"That sounds good to me."

"Well, then, how about we retire for a while?" Ellie said.

"Sounds good to me," Lex said, wincing as she stood up. "Ellie, can I have an Advil?"

"Still sore?"

"Yeah," Lex said.

"I'd like one too," Tim said.

"I think I'm going to take a couple of aspirin myself," Alan added. He decided against taking one of the prescription pain relievers until later that night. He walked over too the kitchen counter, where Ellie had put the bottle and took two, tossing them down without water.

Ellie watched him and shook her head, she couldn't figure out how he could do that.

Alan gave her a kiss as he walked by her. "I'll see you later." He went into the bedroom and took off his boots. He had learned his lesson at the food stand and he carefully lay down. He sighed in relief as his back relaxed, and he willfully cleared his mind of all the problems before him. Before long, he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Ellie?" Lex asked.

"Uh huh..." she said.

"You said you were mad after your parents divorced, right?"

Ellie had almost dozed off; she did not have the energy for a heart-to-heart chat, but she had promised Lex. She turned over and gazed at her. "I was angry, mostly at my father. He had always been a big part of my life and all the sudden he was gone. I didn't see much of him for many, many years."

"That's like what's happened with me, but I guess I'm mad at both of them. We used to do stuff together; but it's like my dad doesn't care any more, and my mother's always busy."

"I'm not making excuses, because I don't know her, but maybe she's distracted by what's happening."

"Yeah, but she hasn't even tried to come and get us."

"Well, that was Alan's idea, remember?" Ellie said gently.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot… Ellie, she doesn't understand me at all; all she does is criticize me because I want to be a vegetarian and because I like computers instead of drooling over boys all the time. I guess she thinks I should be like all my friends. I don't want to be like all the other girls. I mean, I like boys, but there's other important stuff in my life, too."

Ellie sensed the girl was releasing long suppressed emotions. "Have you talked to her about this?"

"No…We always fight."

"That's too bad…" Ellie smiled at Lex, remembering those days. "I was the same way when I was growing up."

"You were?"

Ellie nodded. "I loved math and science, and just like you, all my friends were boy crazy. I'm lucky; my parents encouraged my interests."

"Did you ever make up with your father—your real father, I mean?"

"When I was in graduate school." She would never forget that day. She had heard a knock on her apartment door, to her surprise it was her father. She had first refused to let him in, and then she had let him in at last. He had uttered a heartfelt apology for being absent from her life and asked for her forgiveness. At first she refused, but sensing his sincerity, she finally accepted the apology. During the next year they had spent time together and had become friends. "He passed away while I was in grad school; I wish we had more time together. I hope your dad realizes what he's missing and comes back to you."

"I do, too," she said softly.

"Honey, give your mom another chance, okay?"

Lex thought it over for a moment "I will. Thanks for talking to me."

"Anytime." Ellie closed her eyes, and was asleep in minutes.

* * *

With a groan, Alan fumbled to reach the phone as it jangled beside the bed.

"Yeah, Alan Grant," he said hoarsely.

"Hi Alan, it's Linda. Oh, dear, did I wake you up?"

"It's okay… We ran around all morning, and ran out of gas."

"Oh, I see… My hearing's in a recess, so I thought I'd let you know the clothes are on the way. They said everything should be there the day after tomorrow."

"Good, we've got some on the way too."

Alan looked up and saw Ellie peek in the door; he motioned for her to come in.

"Lynda, Lex and Tim just came in, would you like to talk to them?" Alan said.

"I'd love to."

"Who wants to go first?" he asked.

"I will," Lex said.

Alan looked at Ellie and raised his eyebrows in surprise. Ellie smiled; perhaps their little talk had made a difference.

Lex took the phone from Alan. "Hi, Mom."

"Hi, honey, did you have a good nap?"

"Yeah…We're all still tired."

"I can imagine." Lynda noted with relief that Lex seemed less hostile. Maybe there was hope for them after all. "I remember I could never get you to take a nap when you were younger."

Lex laughed. "I remember that, too. Guess what we had for lunch?"

"I can't imagine; what did you have?"

"_Empañadas _and plantains."

"What's an _Empañadas_?"

"It's like a cheese and bean turnover."

"Oh, I see, that sounds good. Did you like the plantains?"

"They were great; even Tim liked them. Can we get some when we get home?"

"Sure, if you want to."

"Cool…"

Lynda had thought a great deal about Lex's decision to become a vegetarian. "Honey, I've been thinking about your diet. You're obviously healthy, so I'm not going to give you any more grief about it. When you get home, you can explain everything to me so I'll understand it better."

"Sure, I can do that," she said happily.

"Good… Well, I'd better talk to Tim."

"Okay," Lex said.

"It was good to talk to you."

"Yeah, me too. Bye, Mom."

"Good-bye honey." Pleased by the pleasant conversation, Lynda smiled in relief.

Lex handed the phone to Tim then smiled at Ellie, who winked at her in encouragement.

"Hi, Mom," Tim said.

"Hey, kiddo. Enjoy your nap?"

"Yeah, I feel a lot better now."

"Good… So what have you been up to?"

"Oh, Alan had to do some grownup stuff this morning."

"Uh oh…"

"Yeah, he had to fill out some forms at the Embassy. Mom, did you know he's from New Zealand?"

Lynda thought she had heard a slight accent when she had talked to him earlier; she found it charming. "No, I didn't know that."

"Yep, he is. We went to a bookstore after that, and I looked New Zealand up in an atlas so I'd known where it was."

"That was a good idea."

"Then we went to a game store and got Monopoly and a jigsaw puzzle."

"Well, that should be fun."

"We started it before we went to sleep. Oh, yeah, did Lex tell you about the plantains?"

"She sure did. You liked them?"

"Oh, yeah, they were great."

Amazed at what Tim had said, Lynda shook her head. She had terrible problems getting Tim to try new foods; she wondered what magic the two scientists possessed. She saw her lawyer approaching and figured her hearing was about to resume. "Well, Timmy, I'd better let you go."

"Okay."

"I'll talk to you later."

"Bye, Mom."

Tim handed the phone back to Alan. "Well, I guess I should get up," Alan said, running his hand through his hair. "I'll be out in a minute," Alan said.

Lex went into her bedroom, and Ellie sat down at the dinner table to wait for Alan. As she sat at the table, she realized there were two other people they needed to talk to.

After a short time, Alan came into the living room. "My turn," Tim said as he left the room.

"You know, there's a couple of people we need to call," Ellie said.

Alan sat down at the table. "Who?" he asked, frowning.

"Nathan and Karen."

Alan leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "You're right." As department head, they would have to tell Nathan Rothman about the delay, as would Karen, their department secretary.

Alan knew Karen was in Florida visiting her parents, and was due back at the university later that week to get the department ready for the semester. "I'll give Karen a call in a couple of days. I'll call Nathan after I get back tomorrow."

Ellie saw his jaw tighten at the mention of tomorrow's meeting. "I'd like to go with you; Joe said he'd watch Lex and Tim."

"That's all right; you don't have to do that." Reliving their ordeal would do nothing but increase her stress, he thought.

"I know I don't have to, but I want to."

"Ellie, I can do this alone," he said more forcefully than he had intended.

_Stubborn, stubborn, man, _she thought "Okay, fine; whatever you want to do." She stood and turned sharply away.

_Oh crap_, he thought. "Ellie, honey, let me explain."

She turned once more to face him. "Alan, don't honey me. If you don't want me there, then that's the way it's going to be."

Alan's stomach lurched as Ellie stalked outside, and then he glumly sat back down at the table.

* * *

Seething, Ellie stood outside on the patio for a few minutes trying to calm down, and then walked back in the suite. She had planned to make spaghetti but she was not in the mood to cook. "Guys, it's too late to make the spaghetti sauce. How about grilled cheese sandwiches?" she asked tersely, ignoring Alan.

Uneasy with her sudden change of mood, the children looked at Alan, who remained silent. He suddenly felt the need to get outside to escape Ellie's anger. Without a word, he went outside and sat down at the patio table. He shook his head slowly, confused by her hostility. They had disagreements occasionally; all couples did; but she had never lashed out at him like that. It was out of character for her to do such a thing. Maybe he was being chauvinistic, but all he wanted to do was protect her. _Is that so wrong,_ he wondered. He was miserable; his life had spiraled out of his control and the woman he loved was furious at him.

After a few minutes, Tim came out onto the patio. "Alan, dinner's ready," he said quietly. Alan nodded, and he and the boy went inside.

Dinner saw no drop in tension; the children were quiet, uneasy with the friction in the air. Ellie picked at her food, still angry with Alan, and refused to meet his occasional glance her way.

"Ellie, should we put our dishes in the dishwasher?" Lex asked softly, after she finished her meal.

"Sure sweetie, that's a good idea; we'll run it tomorrow morning," she said managing a smile. Ellie realized how upset and nervous the kids were.

"I think I'm going to get my pajamas on and mess with the puzzle," Tim said.

"I'm going to read for awhile," Lex said, who looked uncertainly at Alan.

Alan nodded, but didn't say anything as the children left the room.

Ellie got up from the dinner table and started towards the bedroom, intending to take a shower. As she walked away, Alan stood to make one more try to reason with her. "Ellie, please listen…"

Ellie spun around to face him, her anger flaring again. "Alan, I think you've made yourself clear, you don't want me around tomorrow. I guess you don't trust me."

Without another word, she stalked out of the room, leaving him to stand openmouthed in shock. He did not know how to react to such an accusation. Not trust her? He would trust her with his life.

* * *

Ashamed, Ellie stood under the shower. _What is the matter with me_… she wondered. She knew Alan was only being protective and she had terribly overreacted. She had not felt right since they had left the island. Of course he trusted her; he had never given her a single reason to doubt that trust. The stricken look on his face had said volumes about how much she had hurt him; her eyes filled with tears. Suddenly, all the confusion and shame became too much for her; she slid down into the tub, curled up in a ball, and sobbed.

Ellie's tears gradually stopped, and she turned off the shower. She numbly toweled herself dry and put her sleep shirt on, then dried her hair, brushing it back. As she crossed into the bedroom, she saw Lex had already changed into her pajamas and was reading.

"Hi, Ellie," Lex said cautiously.

"Is the book good?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Good… Did Tim get his bed ready?"

Lex nodded. "Ellie, are you mad at Alan?"

Ellie breathed out slowly. "We had a misunderstanding, mostly on my part, and I said something I regret. I'm going to talk to him right now."

Lex smiled. "Good."

Ellie smiled at Lex. "I'll be back."

Bent over the puzzle, Tim quickly looked at Ellie as she walked into the living room, and then returned his attention to his puzzle.

"How's the puzzle coming along?" she asked.

Tim shrugged, but remained silent.

Ellie knelt beside the boy. "Tim, I'm sorry I wasn't much company at dinner."

"Why are you mad at Alan?" he asked.

"We had a misunderstanding; I'm headed that way to get everything straightened out."

"Good. I don't like it when people fight."

"Did your mother and father fight a lot?"

"Yeah, a whole lot. I usually just went into my room and turned on some music."

Ellie frowned in sympathy. "Poor guy, I'm sorry that you had to go through that."

"It's okay… Alan changed my bandages. He said I might be able to go swimming tomorrow."

"He did? Hey, that's great! Well, I'm going to go talk to him. Don't stay up too late."

"I won't. Goodnight, Ellie."

"Good night, Tim." She walked into Alan's bedroom, and shut the door behind her for some privacy. Alan had been in the shower; she could hear the hair dryer going. For a moment, she fondly ran her hand over his shirt, which he had placed over a chair, then began to pace. Would he even talk to her, she wondered. A few seconds later, the dryer shut off, and Alan came out of the bathroom, a towel around his waist, water beading on his chest. He took two steps and froze.

It hurt her to see the wounded, wary expression on his handsome face. She silently approached, praying he would forgive her. After what seemed an eternity, she saw his expression change and he opened his arms to her. She rushed into his embrace, and leaned her head on his shoulders. "Oh, Alan, I'm so sorry. Please forgive me," she said.

"It's all right," he said, holding her tightly. "I'm getting you wet, let me go and dry off," he said after a few moments. "Don't move. I'll be right back."

"I'll be here."

On the way back into the bathroom, he picked up his pajama bottoms. "That's what I came out for," he said with a grin.

Alan quickly returned, dressed in his pajama bottoms and one of the t-shirt's she had bought him. They sat down side by side on the bed, and for a few seconds neither one said anything, they just looked at each other, not sure where to start.

"Alan—"

"Ellie—"

They had both spoken at the same time and they laughed, putting their foreheads together.

"I'll go first," Alan said. "Ellie, there's not a person, man or woman who I trust more than you."

"Oh, Alan, that was a horrible thing to say; I know you trust me."

"But that's what it must have seemed like." He stood and began to pace. "What happened today in the store scared me, and I guess I was trying to protect you. I didn't want you to have to relive everything; that's all I was trying to do. It all came out all wrong." He sat down again and took her hand.

"I know that, at least now I do." She caressed his cheek. "Alan, I'm not sure what's going on with me; I feel so mixed up inside."

"I know what it is," he said, angry at the emotional pain she was suffering. "It's that damn island and everything that happened to us."

Ellie nodded. "I want to go with you tomorrow; we'll help each other get through it."

"He ain't heavy, he's my brother?" he said with a crooked grin, his eyes shining mischievously.

Ellie put her arms around his neck. "Believe me, I'm not thinking of you in a brotherly way."

"Stay with me for a while," he whispered, as he placed a kiss on her forehead.

"I'd like that."

Alan turned the ceiling fan down, and opened the door for Tim. He lay down with Ellie, and held her close, caressing her arm.

"This feels so good," she said, yawning. She snuggled closer to Alan, feeling safe for the first time since they had left the island. She could not understand why she felt so insecure, it was not how she normally felt. She hoped it was something that did not last.

* * *

Alan opened his eyes; his heart pounding, as the high pitch scream filled the room. "Lex, don't move!" he shouted. He frantically looked around for the Rex, and then realized he was in his bedroom.

Ellie sat bolt upright and looked at Alan in confusion, and then realized where the screams had come from. "Oh, my God, it's Lex." She jumped out of bed and went quickly out of the bedroom.

Alan climbed out of bed and dazedly followed Ellie; grabbing his robe on the way out the door. As he went into the other room, he saw Lex was sitting up in bed, her eyes wide open but unseeing.

"Dr. Grant! Dr. Grant! The monster!" Lex called out loudly, her voice panicked.

Alan stopped, unsure of what he should do to help Lex. He looked at Ellie helplessly; he had no experience in this. _How the hell do you wake a child who's having a nightmare, _he wondered.

Tim ran into the room and went to her bedside, his eyes wide, alarmed at his sister's distress.

Ellie knew Lex needed the reassurance from the man who had saved her life. "Alan, talk to her."

Alan nodded and took a deep breath, then gently sat on the bed. "Lex, it's Dr. Grant. The Rex is gone, we're safe," he said, trying his best to reassure her. After he had rescued Tim, he had told the kids to call him Alan. Lex's dream must have been taking place before that time.

"It's gone?" Lex said in a small, frightened voice.

"That's right, all the dinosaurs are gone. It's just you, me, Ellie and Tim."

"Timmy's out of the tree?"

"She would bring that up," Tim muttered.

Alan smiled, and then put his finger to his lips to quiet the boy. "Yep, Tim's out of the tree. We're at the hotel now, all safe and sound."

Ellie could see Lex was waking up, her eyes beginning to focus on the people around her.

"Alan?" Lex looked at him, now fully awake, and then began to cry.

He put his arms around her, and she held on tightly to him as she wept. By instinct, he rocked her as he would a small child, and gradually her tears slowed.

"Tim, can you do us a favor and get your sister a Kleenex?" Ellie asked.

"Sure." Tim went quickly into the bathroom, emerging a few seconds later with a handful of tissues. "Here you go, Lex."

The girl sniffed and dabbed her eyes. "Thank you."

"There… Is that better?" Ellie asked.

The girl nodded and blew her nose. "Alan, I'm sorry I got your shirt wet."

Alan looked down at his shirt and smiled. "It'll dry. Want to talk about it?"

Lex frowned. "We were on the road and the big one—the T-Rex was chasing us. We were all there, and Grandpa and Dr. Malcolm, too. It kept chasing us, and we couldn't get away."

Alan saw Lex's eyes fill with tears again, and he put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I was so scared out there," Lex said.

"I was, too," Alan said.

"You were?" Lex asked.

"Oh, yeah, I was petrified," he said.

"But you still helped us," she said.

"I did what I had to do; but I wouldn't have been able to get you out from the car at all if it hadn't been for Dr. Malcolm. He's the real hero…"

"I know," Lex said.

"You know, I think some warm milk and cookies might be good right about now," Alan said.

"Hey, that's a great idea," Ellie said.

"Yeah, I'd like some, too," Tim said.

Lex touched Ellie on the arm as the group walked into the living room. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure."

"Did you make up with Alan?"

Ellie smiled and nodded. "We talked everything out, and then fell sound asleep."

"I'm glad you made up. Ellie, we won't tell anyone if you want to stay with Alan."

"I know you won't, but we think it's better if I stay in here."

Lex shrugged. "Whatever you want to do."

"Come on; let's grab some of those cookies before the guys eat them all."

* * *

lembaslover-I missed you last time... Thanks for reading!

WashoopiCandi-I'm working on it! Thanks for the review!

reasonably Sunny-I'm visualizing Lex to be 13-14 years old in my story. I thought she was pretty obnoxious in the movie too. LOL I hated the Alan/Ellie plot development in JPIII, so I've decided to begin to rectify that situation later in my story. Unfortunately, since I decided to go with the book version as it pertained to Ian Malcolm,I don't think that would be possible. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!

weasleyfan789-Thanks for reading. Yes, Dr. Harding did survive, but I never got around to writing anything about him.

My Requiem-Thanks for reading!

expertreader-expertreader, at this point I don't think it would be possible to make those kind of changes. Give the book a try, it's fantastic. Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 9

"Alan, before you leave, can you take a look at my hands?" Tim asked.

"Sure, Tim," he said, as he checked his watch; a few minutes remained until Joe would arrive.

While Tim tore off his old bandages, Alan switched on the overhead light and took a seat at the dinner table.

"How do they look? Can I go swimming?" Tim asked.

Alan studied Tim's hands, and after a few moments, he decided the boy could swim. "Ellie, what do you think?"

Ellie caught Alan's wink, and she guessed his plan. She leaned over his shoulder, and peered at Tim's hands. "Hmm—well Tim, I don't know."

"They don't hurt at all. Please, can I swim?" Tim begged, as he looked eagerly between the adults.

Ellie could tell only a slight redness remained from his wounds. Luckily, she did not think they would scar. "Don't worry Tim, we're kidding you. If Alan agrees, I think you're good to go."

Alan decided to take a conservative approach. "How about this? You can swim for an hour or so the first time. If there are no problems afterwards, you can swim longer next time."

The children let out a whoop, which made him smile. Such innocent enthusiasm, he reflected; how sad that as people grew older, they lost the capacity to enjoy life's simple pleasures.

"Can Mr. Reiling take us swimming?" Lex asked.

"I'm sure he will. We'll ask him when he gets here," Ellie said.

"Excellent," Tim said. "Come on, Lex. Let's work on the puzzle until Mr. Reiling comes."

"Sounds good to me," she said.

"Alan, I'm going to give Mom a call and let her know about the transfer," Ellie said.

"Okay, I'll be outside," Alan said, nodding. As he walked through the patio door; by habit, he checked the sky. Cloudy, warm, and muggy, it looked like it might rain later. In the field, using the local radio stations, he and Ben kept close tabs on the forecast. The heat was a constant concern, and although infrequent, plains thunderstorms formed quickly, and could be violent, with high winds and dangerous lightning.

As he read the newspaper, he realized in two days, it would be his 37th birthday. Before their departure from Montana, he suspected Ellie and Ben planned a surprise party for him. Although he considered himself too old for birthday parties, he would endure it, if it made Ellie happy.

* * *

Ellie dialed her parent's number. After a few rings, the answering machine connected. "Hi, it's Ellie. I wanted to let you know we're fine. We're going to withdraw the money this afternoon, thanks so much for your help. I'll talk to you later. Love you both. Bye..."

* * *

Alan massaged his forehead, trying to rub his headache away; two aspirins had failed to make a dent in the pain. He recognized the culprit to be stress and a lack of sleep.

Normally, he handled, even thrived on the pressure inherent in his field; the pressure to unearth the next great discovery; to write the next great research paper. However, this situation differed from any previous experience. From his funding problems, his worry about Ellie and the others, and the uncertainty of their current predicament, he could feel the strain squeezing him on all sides.

He contemplated the meeting ahead of him; a meeting he wished to avoid. He did not have any desire to share with anyone the sheer terror he experienced on the island. He could not explain the emotional paralysis that overwhelmed him when confronted with a traumatic experience. Even after four years, he found the subject of his wife and child's death too painful, too personal to discuss with anyone, even his family, and closest friends. As Ellie approached, he tried to shake off his gloomy mood. "That was quick."

"I got the answering machine. Wait a minute-are you saying we talk too long on the phone?" she asked in jest.

"No, of course not," he said, smiling. Ellie and her mother sometimes chatted in length when they talked on the phone, but it never bothered him. Because they lived in different states, long-distance calls and the occasional letter kept them in communication.

"Well, I'm glad to hear it." She glanced at the newspaper. "Anything in the paper?"

He shook his head as he passed the front section to her. "Not a word. I have to hand it to them. They've really put the lid on the story."

Ellie glanced at the date on the paper, dismayed to see Alan's birthday would be in two days. With all the turmoil during and after Jurassic Park, the day had slipped her mind. A few weeks earlier, she made a special trip into Great Falls to buy him a gift, and she and Ben planned to throw a surprise birthday party for him. The gift remained in Montana, but she wanted to give him something on his birthday. She figured a new wallet would be good to replace his ruined one. If she could sneak away to the mall, she would be able to buy him one; perhaps she could enlist Joe's aid. She studied his face, and noted the fatigue lines around his eyes. "Did you get back to sleep?"

"Yeah, after a while. I missed you."

Ellie took his hand, and caressed his thumb. "I missed you, too. Look, if you want me to, I'll come back in a heartbeat." Ellie quietly chuckled. "Lex has given us her permission."

"You're kidding?"

"Nope, she said she and Tim wouldn't tell anyone."

Alan laughed. "It's tempting. Actually—" He leaned over and gave her a kiss. "You tempt me."

"I do?" she said in a sultry voice.

"Uh huh. But as happy as it would make me, I think it's better to keep the sleeping arrangements like they are now."

"Yeah, I agree. Lex seems all right this morning."

"She does, I'm glad to say," he said

Ellie recalled his disoriented reaction to Lex's scream. "Alan, what happened to you last night, when Lex screamed?"

"After I got her out of the car, the Rex came back to finish the job, and she screamed. Ellie, I swear I was back on the road." He shrugged and shook his head. "It must've been a flashback of some sort." After he returned to bed, he began to replay the events in his mind over and over in his mind. Unable to get the images out of his mind, it took him hours to get back to sleep. "Do you think we'll ever get back to a normal existence?"

"What's normal?" she asked, her expression suddenly bleak. "I don't know what normal is anymore."

Ellie's bleak words echoed his feelings; like survivors of any disaster, they both struggled with the aftermath.

"Are you okay with the meeting?" she asked.

"I guess so. I don't have much choice in the matter. Are you going to be okay?" He had been wrong to dictate what Ellie could or could not do, but he hoped the interrogation did not distress her too much. Happily, she seemed calm and collected today.

"I will be." She remembered Joe's words from yesterday. "You know, it might help to talk about everything."

"Maybe so," he said noncommittally.

Alan heard a rap at the door and he checked his watch for the time. "That should be Joe." As they went back inside, they discovered the children had let Joe in.

"Morning, Joe," Ellie said.

"Good morning, everybody," Joe said, dressed casually in jeans, a forest green polo shirt, and running shoes.

"Guess what?" Tim asked.

"What?" Joe asked.

"I got my bandages off."

"Hey, terrific! I bet you want to go swimming, right?"

"Yeah—Mr. Reiling, can you take us? Ellie said it would be okay," Tim said.

"If it's all right with Ellie, then I'll be glad to."

"Cool!"

"We ate breakfast a few minutes ago, so you might wait an hour or so," Ellie said. "Alan thinks an hour would be enough of a swim this morning."

"Gotcha, an hour it'll be. Alan, the account is ready, so I'll run you over to the embassy this afternoon."

"Good deal."

"Mr. Reiling, do you play Monopoly?" Lex asked.

"Uh, well, I haven't played for a few years."

"Don't worry, it'll come back to you," she said, with a smirk.

Joe looked at Alan, who laughed. _Better you than me, my friend_, Alan said to himself; he hoped to avoid the Monopoly trap altogether.

"Any news from Pauley?" Alan asked.

"No, I'm afraid not. The Costa Rican's are being hard-core about the whole matter."

Alan nodded, and exhaled, as he heard a tap at the door. He swung open the door, and found a young Hispanic man standing across the threshold.

"Dr. Grant?" The man asked.

"Yes, I'm Dr. Grant."

"Good morning, sir. My name is Sandoval. If you are ready, I am to escort you to Minister Olvera."

Alan nodded, as ready as he'd ever be. "Ellie?"

Ellie joined him at the door. "Guys, we'll see you later."

"Okay, we'll be good," Tim said.

Ellie smiled at the boy. "I know you will." The kids might have simply been on their best behavior, but they had been no trouble whatsoever, other than a few arguments. She could recall similar instances with her siblings. Despite the arguments, she sensed they shared a deep bond; a bond they would need to recover from both their parents divorce, and their frightening experience on Isla Nublar.

* * *

As they entered Olvera's reception area, Alan spotted Pauley waiting for them. "Good morning, Ambassador," he said.

"Good morning, folks. I hope Joe's taking good care of you."

"He is," Alan said. Beyond his aid, Alan considered Joe a much-needed friend and ally. "He's watching Lex and Tim while we're here."

"Good. How are the kids doing?"

"So-so," Ellie said. "Lex had a bad nightmare last night. It's hard to tell about Tim. Outwardly he's fine, but I'm not sure what's going on inside his head." She glanced at Alan, and he nodded his agreement. "He's happy today, he gets to go swimming."

"His hands are better?" Pauley asked.

"Much better," Alan said.

"Ah, excellent. Joe told me they're staying with you until Mrs. Murphy can come and get them."

"It seemed the easiest solution with her divorce hearings going on," Alan said.

Pauley nodded. "I don't think there will be any delays, when she gets here."

"Oh, by the way, I talked to Morris yesterday. He's sending us all the information the EPA has on InGen."

"What's the status of the investigation?" Ellie asked.

"The EPA and the Costa Rican government are cooperating in the investigation. I think it's safe to say, at the least, there will be large fines for InGen."

"I sure as hell hope so," Alan said.

"Dr. Grant, Dr. Sattler, good morning," Olvera said, as he came out of his office.

"Good morning, Minister Olvera. I'd like to thank you for your patience," Alan said.

"I trust you're feeling better."

"Much better, thank you," Alan said. Although some stiffness remained from the injury, little pain lingered.

"That is good to hear. If you'll step this way, please."

Alan and Ellie exchanged glances as they crossed into Olvera's office, and she flashed him a quick smile. As they took their seats across from the Minister, Olvera and Pauley once again took out pens and writing pads.

Pauley briefly consulted his notes. "Dr. Grant, you were telling us what happened when the power went off."

"Right," Alan said, relieved at the lack of small talk. "When Nedry cut off the power, the car stopped in front of the T-Rex paddock. The Rex smashed the fence and tried to eat the other car."

"The one with the children and Ed Regis, correct?" Olvera asked.

Alan nodded "Malcolm and I grabbed some road flares. We lit a couple and got the Rex's attention. The damn fool took off, and the Rex followed him." He recalled feeling ridiculous, as he stood alone, facing the Rex, armed only with a road flare. "I lost track of him."

"He had an open fracture in his leg, and the wound developed gangrene," Ellie said. "We didn't have any antibiotics to treat the infection, only some morphine for pain." With the smell of the wound nauseating her, it took every ounce of her willpower to remain in the room to treat him.

Alan grimaced, and then nodded; it would be an unpleasant way to die. "I got Lex out of the car, but I couldn't get to Tim. The Rex came back and chased us around the car for a while, then the Rex pushed the car over the side of the embankment into a tree, so I climbed up and got him."

Ellie listened as Alan spoke, amazed they survived at all. However, the calm way he talked surprised her, considering his earlier reluctance, she expected more emotion from him. She worried he had buried the ordeal deep inside himself. She knew instinctively, he needed to release those feelings, much as she had done in the shower. She felt much more in control of her feelings and emotions now. She returned her attention to Alan's story.

"There were two Rex's on the island, one adult, and one juvenile. The juvenile found Regis and—played with him, there's no other description. After a few minutes, she tore him apart." He would never forget those screams; as he stood, engulfed with horror, watching the attack. "I couldn't do anything to help him. We climbed a tree and stayed there all night."

"A tree?" Pauley asked.

"Yeah, a damn tall tree."

Ellie smothered a smile; she knew of his dislike of heights. However, in the field, with solid ground beneath him, he enjoyed sitting on the highest promontory around the campsite, regaling his companions with vivid descriptions of the area in prehistoric times.

"The next morning, we started back to the reception center," Alan said. "On the way back, I found the eggs."

The two bureaucrats looked at Alan in surprise. "Eggs?" Olvera asked.

"Yeah, dinosaur eggs."

"Dr. Grant, how could that be?" Pauley asked. "According to our information, InGen performed some sort of genetic change to make the animals all female. I admit I don't completely understand the process."

"The genetic modification didn't work," Alan said. "The DNA strands they extracted weren't complete, so they used amphibian DNA to fill the gaps." He looked intently at Ellie. "Remember the film?"

"Of course—they changed sexes to provide breeding partners," she said. It would explain how they managed to breed. "Life found a way," she said sadly, remembering Ian's prophetic words.

"Yes, it did," he said.

"Doctors," Olvera said. "I am confused. Are you telling us some of these animals, despite this change, changed sex and became males? How could this be possible?"

"Minister, Ambassador, some species of amphibians can change sex if there is a shortage of breeding partners. I suspect this happened at Jurassic Park. How they managed to overcome the genetic change, I don't know. I'm not a geneticist," he said, "Perhaps a flaw existed in the procedure from the beginning, and the external DNA exploited the flaw. There might have been clues in the DNA strands, but there's no way to know now."

"Dr. Grant, are you certain you found dinosaur eggs? Could they possibly have been bird eggs?" Pauley asked.

Alan remained silent, but his eyes bored into Pauley.

After a moment, Pauley cleared his throat. "I apologize, for the absurd question. What I would like to know is why Hammond and the park employees weren't aware the dinosaurs had bred? Weren't the employees out in the field checking on the animals and counting them?"

"They placed sensors all around the park to count the animals, but they programmed them to count only the expected number of each species," Ellie said. She observed Pauley's jaw drop in astonishment. "Alan and Ian both suspected more animals existed than the computers counted, so they asked Henry Arnold to change the calculations. The total number of animals then increased."

"My God," Pauley whispered. "How could they have been so incompetent?"

"It wasn't incompetence, it was arrogance," Alan said. "They so believed in the infallibility of the technology they created, they simply could not imagine any other possibility."

"It's a shame they didn't call you in earlier. I think they could have used a dose of your skepticism," Pauley said.

Alan laughed shortly. "I doubt they would have listened to me." The more he discovered about InGen's monstrosities, the more disgusted he became. Had he known the facts, he would have never become involved with their plans, regardless of the payoff.

"You're probably right, unfortunately. Dr. Sattler, Muldoon told us you were instrumental in restoring the power," Pauley said.

Ellie shrugged. She did not feel any great accomplishment in the act; she came close to killing them. "After Nedry turned the power off, nothing worked, so we needed to reboot the computers to get the phones working. Why in the world, they tied the phones into the computer system is beyond me." She looked at Alan and shook her head.

"It makes no sense to me either," Alan said. "For safety reasons, they should have kept the phones separate from the computer system."

"Dr. Sattler, can you tell us what happened at the end?" Olvera asked.

Beside her, Alan began to object, and she stilled him with a touch on his arm. "Alan, it's okay."

Alan sat back in his chair, unhappy at the turn of events.

"Henry Arnold went to a utility shed to turn the power back on," Ellie said. "When he didn't come back, I decided to go over there myself. They housed the raptors in a separate enclosure, and when Arnold reset the computers, it turned off the electric fences guarding the enclosure. They escaped and killed him in the shed." She paused to gather herself, before continuing. "I found his remains after I turned the power back on. One of the raptors began stalking me, but I got away."

She must have thrown the circuit breakers at the same time Tim climbed the fence, Alan realized. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze; he hoped she did not blame herself.

"Dr. Sattler, that was a brave act," Olvera said.

"I didn't have much choice in the matter," she said, with a shrug. "Muldoon was— indisposed at the time," she said with disgust.

While Ellie told the two men about their desperate attempt to escape, Alan once again wondered what happened between them. Muldoon appeared to be the only InGen employee with any common sense; at least at least when it came to the raptors.

"The choppers came and got us, and we found ourselves here," Ellie said. "End of story..."

"I must say, it's the end to an astonishing story," Pauley said.

"I would like to ask you something," Olvera said. "Do you think there is any possibility some of the dinosaurs have escaped to the mainland?"

No matter what they were doing to them, the Costa Rican's deserved to know the truth. "I think they have," Alan said. "Before we left Montana, we received a fax of an x-ray of what looked like the hindquarters of a _Procompsognathus_, which they found on the mainland."

"This... _Procompsognathus_, is it a large animal?" Olvera asked.

"No, it's about the size of a chicken," Alan said.

"I see. Do you still have the fax?" Olvera asked.

Alan shrugged, becoming aware of Olvera's uneasy manner. "I'm not sure, the next time I talk to my crew chief, I'll ask him if they've thrown it away." In the rush to catch Hammond's plane, the fax had been forgotten.

"Thank you."

"They would have a hard time surviving on the mainland," Ellie said.

"Why?" Alan asked.

"Another genetic change kept them lysine deficient, so they gave them lysine supplements to keep them alive. There are natural sources for lysine, however." It sent chills through her to think the animals might be intelligent enough to adapt and survive on the mainland.

"True." Alan sat back in his chair and reflected on Ellie's statement. He once again observed Olvera's uneasy manner; in their previous meeting, the man exuded a calm, even detached manner. What's going on here, he wondered.

Olvera placed his pen on his desk and looked briefly at the Ambassador. "Ambassador, do you have any more questions,"

"I can't think of anything," Pauley said.

"Then I think we have finished. I would like to thank you both for your candor. You have given us much valuable information."

"I don't suppose it would do any good to ask if we can leave," Alan said, as a formality.

"I do understand you are eager to return home. However, I am afraid we cannot let you go now. I assure you we are doing our best to complete this matter as quickly as possible. I want to thank you again for you patience. We will be in touch with you, soon."

Finished with the interrogation, Ellie sighed in relief. Even if they could not leave, the most unpleasant part was behind them.

Alan nodded, and as they walked out into the waiting room, Pauley turned towards the two scientists. "It's easy for me to say, but don't lose hope."

"We're trying not to, Ambassador," Alan said.

Ellie caught sight of their driver. "I think our ride's here."

Sandoval nodded at Alan as he approached. "Dr. Grant, if you are ready to go, I will take you back to your hotel."

"Thanks."

Pauley held out his hand, which Alan and Ellie in turn shook. "Well, I'll let you two get going."

"Thanks for everything," Ellie said.

"It was my pleasure. I'll be in touch, I hope with good news. Good luck to you."

"Thank you, Ambassador," Alan said.

Their driver led them back to the car and Alan climbed in the back alongside Ellie. Alan didn't say much; she could tell he was working something out in his mind. Suddenly, his blue eyes widened and he began to smile. She lightly touched his arm. "What are you thinking about?" she asked.

"Leverage…" he said, with a glint in his eyes.

* * *

I'm embarrassed to say I haven't thanked my awesome editor in a few chapters. Thanks Yvonne!

Stocktonwood and WashoopiCandy-As always thanks for reading.


	11. Chapter 10

"Do you have an idea?" Ellie asked.

Alan glanced at the driver; the man appeared to pay them no attention, but he could not take any chances. "Maybe—I'll tell you when we get back to the hotel."

Ellie nodded, and they did not speak further. After a few minutes, she observed his expression change, became more uncertain. She studied him out of the corner of her eye, anxious to know his plan, and the reason for the mood change.

Their car pulled into the hotel driveway; Alan and Ellie climbed out of the car. "Have a good afternoon," Sandoval said.

"Thanks," Alan said.

They walked into the hotel and Alan stopped, cocking his head in the direction of the bar. "Let's go have a beer."

"Sure," she said.

Entering the bar, they ordered two Imperials from the bartender. "Help yourselves to the _Boca's_," the bartender said, referring to a platter of food on the bar counter.

"Want some?" Alan asked. They could make it their lunch, he decided.

"Yeah, I could use a bite to eat."

"Absolutely." Alan spotted a few pickled eggs on the platter and did a double take. _It can't be.._. "Excuse me, are these sea turtle eggs?" he asked the bartender.

The man handed them their beers. "Yes, sir, they are."

Alan exchanged an incredulous look with Ellie. Careful to avoid the eggs, he placed a few tortillas along with cheese and fruit on a plate.

After they carried the food and drinks to a corner table, Ellie filled a tortilla with cheese, and sprinkled a few drops of the_ Salsa Lizano _onto the tortilla. "Can you believe they would serve those eggs in the open?"

"No, I can't, it can't be legal to take the eggs." With a shrug, he took a tortilla for himself and filled it with cheese.

"It can't be. So—what's your idea? The wheels have been turning since we left Olvera's office."

Alan nodded. "Yesterday, Joe said we needed leverage."

"Right..."

"Well, we know tourism is important to the Costa Ricans, and they don't want the world to know there might be carnivorous dinosaurs running free on the mainland. Did you see how nervous Olvera got when I mentioned the Compy x-ray? They don't want any evidence of their existence to get out to the public. They would panic if there was even a hint the press might learn the story."

Ellie nodded, remembering how uneasy the man appeared. "He did seem antsy. If the story got out, the bad publicity might wreck the industry," Ellie said, picking up on Alan's reasoning. "The problem is, there's a news blackout, so how could the press find out?" Suddenly, she realized the answer and inhaled sharply. "John Tatum!"

Alan smiled and nodded. "You got it, my old college roommate. I have to believe no matter how crazy the story sounded, he'd believe me. He would have CNN all over it."

Ellie's pulse raced at the implication of his words. "You're right; he's a producer, so he could get the story assigned to a reporter. If the Costa Rican's found out there was a possibility the network might learn of the story, they wouldn't have any choice but to let us go. Alan, it's the answer we've been looking for!"

Alan frowned; he hated to put a damper on her excitement. "There's only one problem with all this."

"What problem could there be?" She could not think of a single reason they should not use whatever means they held to get their freedom.

"I don't want anybody to know about the island, or the dinosaurs."

"But, Alan—."

Alan raised his hand to stop her objections. "Ellie, hear me out."

Ellie reluctantly sat back in her chair to listen.

"If we threatened to go public," Alan said, "logic says to keep Jurassic Park a secret they would buckle under and let us go. But what if they call us on it and we have to send the information to John, and the world learns about Jurassic Park. Most people with any sense would stay away, but there would always be curious individuals who would come for the thrill of seeing, or hunting, the animals."

Ellie realized the truth in his statement, and her heart sank in disappointment. "You're right, people would look for the dinosaurs, and more people would die. I have to think they would never let it get that far. You said it yourself. Logically they would let us go home."

"Maybe so, but I'm not ready to gamble on other people's lives." Alan scowled into his beer. "There's another reason I don't want anyone to know about all this. I know I could count on John to keep our identity safe, but somebody—the Costa Ricans—or our own government would leak our names. It's inevitable. We'd never get a moment's peace from the press. I've been through the celebrity thing, and I didn't enjoy it one bit."

Ellie had not become acquainted with Alan until after he had discovered the eggs, but she knew the attention had been an irritation. She figured it would be even worse in a case such as this.

"I didn't think of that. Still, it's a shame there isn't some way to make use of what we know." She studied Alan's face while he considered their options.

After a few seconds, he looked at her and grinned. "I know something we can do right now. We can make a journal of everything we know about InGen the accident."

"I like that idea. You know, after we finish, let's send everything to Ben and Sue."

Alan had not considered what they would do after they finished. "Yes, we can do that." At least their story would be safe. "We'll need a notebook to write on."

"Let's try the Mini-Mart, they might have something suitable."

"We can check on the way back." He laughed shortly. "It'll be the strangest paper we'll ever write."

"That's an understatement. It's going to read like a science fiction novel. I take it you don't want to let Joe know about our plan."

"No, I'd rather not tell him anything. He won't have to lie about what he knows."

Ellie nodded her agreement. "Do you want to type it out afterwards? The hotel has a business center, so they should have a typewriter we can use."

"It would be more professional, I suppose." Alan pursed his lips, then shook his head. "No, let's send it handwritten. I don't want there to be any doubt we wrote it."

Ellie swallowed the last of her beer. "You don't think they would do anything to us, do you?"

"No, not really, but I'm not taking any chances. I know I'm being paranoid."

"You're being cautious, and I don't blame you. Alan, if they won't let us go in a reasonable time, will you at least think about telling the Costa Ricans who we know?"

Alan stared at his empty beer glass for a moment. Although growing more and more frustrated by the turn of events, he would have to be desperate before he would agree to do something so extreme. "I will. Ready to go?"

"Yep."

They walked to the Mini-Mart, and approached the clerk.

"May I help you?" the woman asked.

"Yes. Do you carry spiral notebooks?" Ellie asked.

"Yes, ma'am. You'll find them on the first aisle."

"Thanks," she said.

They followed the woman's directions and found a small display of office supplies. "Here we go," Alan said. "I must've been out of it the other night. I don't remember seeing them."

"Me either. These should work, don't you think?" she asked.

Alan thumbed through a spiral. "Yeah, these will be perfect."

"Good. I'll get them while you and Joe are gone. Any particular color you'd like?"

Alan laughed. "I think I'll let you pick the color."

* * *

"Hey, guys," Alan said, as they stepped into the suite. Engaged in a game of monopoly with Joe, Tim looked across the room and smiled. "Hi," Tim said.

"Hey, there, Tim, have fun swimming?" Ellie asked.

"Oh, yeah."

"Great," Ellie said.

"Mr. Reiling fixed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and he made me one with bananas," Tim said.

"Good, got your Elvis sandwich," Ellie said.

"Sure did!"

"Are you two hungry?" Joe asked.

"We stopped in the bar for a beer, and we snacked on a platter of food they had," Ellie said.

"Ah, the _Boca's_." Joe said.

"Yeah," Alan said. "Say, what's the deal with the sea turtle eggs? How can they get away with serving those in the open?"

"Well, by Costa Rican law they can harvest the first hatching," Joe said. "I think it stinks. There's too much poaching as it is."

"It's a shame they let it go on," Ellie said.

"How'd everything go with the meeting?" Joe asked.

"Nothing I didn't expect," Alan said, with a shrug. "I hope it helped them." He also hoped they would realize the futility in holding them any longer.

"Are you ready to go withdraw your money?" Joe asked.

"Sure, unless you'd like to finish the game," Alan said, with a smirk.

"No, I think I've endured enough punishment for one day. Ellie, can you take over for me?" Joe asked.

Ellie laughed. "I'll try to salvage your empire."

"Be careful, those two are merciless."

"That's us," Lex said, with enthusiasm.

"Mr. Reiling, thanks for taking us swimming," Tim said.

"Yeah, thanks!" Lex said.

"Anytime, guys," Joe said. "Ellie, I'll talk to you later."

"Sure, Joe," Ellie said. After the two men departed, she turned to the children. "Before we start playing, I need to run to the Mini-Mart and get a couple of spiral notebooks."

"You're not giving us homework, are you?" Tim asked.

"No, of course not," Ellie said with a laugh. "They're for Alan and me. Let me go get the spirals and I'll explain what we're doing." They made the short trip to the market, where she bought two spirals and a packet of pens. After they returned to the suite, she put the spirals in a drawer.

"What are the spirals for?" Lex asked.

"Well, we may be able to use them to get home faster," Ellie said.

"Really?" Tim said.

"Maybe so. We've decided to write a journal and explain how Alan became involved with your grandfather's company, and…everything that happened on the island. After we finish, we're going to send the spirals to two of our friends back in Montana." She decided to give them some background of the situation to help them understand. "See, the tourist industry is important to the Costa Rican's, so they don't want any bad publicity to get out about the accident. As a last resort, if they don't let us go soon, we're going to send the journals to a friend of Alan's. John's a producer at CNN."

"CNN… Oh, how cool!" Lex said. "So you'll be leaving soon?"

"Not so fast there… We're not going to use the information unless we're forced to." She understood Alan's reasoning, and admired him for his steadfast integrity, but those feelings warred with her wish to go home.

"But Ellie, you should tell Alan's friend, and then they'd have to let you go," Lex said in confusion.

"Lex, I had the same reaction you did. The problem is the Costa Ricans think all the dinosaurs are dead, but Alan's worried if any animals have survived, people would want to go see them."

"But—when we left, I could see them bombing the island. Aren't the dinosaurs dead?" Tim said, his expression fearful.

_Oh, crap... why did I say that_? "Well nobody knows for sure." Under no circumstance, did she intend to mention anything about dinosaurs on the mainland. Alan is afraid if the existence of the park becomes known, out of curiosity, people would go to the island and they might be killed."

"Oh, I see," Lex said. "Can't you bluff them or something?"

"That might be an option, but Alan doesn't want to try it right now." She remembered his words in the bar, and wondered how far he would be pushed before he acted. "Lex, Tim, I need you to promise me you won't tell Mr. Reiling about the journal. It's best if he doesn't know about it."

"Okay, I won't say anything, I promise," Lex said.

"Tim, do you understand what I've been talking about?"

"Yeah, I think so. I promise too."

"Good deal. Let's get the game going."

* * *

"Are you all right?" Joe said. Turning into the embassy's parking garage, he observed Alan's obvious fatigue.

"Yeah, I guess so," Alan said. "Lex had a nightmare last night, and she woke everybody up. It took me a long time to get back to sleep. I guess I'm not as young as I used to be." Joe did not comment; Alan hesitated before speaking further, then told Joe about Lex's nightmare. "Lex screamed like she did on the road. Let me tell you she has a whale of a scream. For a few seconds, I was back there on the road again. It scared the hell out of me."

"Is anybody else having any problems?"

"Yeah… We all seem to be affected one way or the other, except for Tim it seems. Ellie's been jumpy as hell. The whole thing shook Tim at first, but he's come out of it fine."

"While we were at the mall, I said something about the game store being the next stop on the tour, and Tim jumped out of his skin."

"He did?"

"He said the man on the tour said something similar."

Alan searched his memory, but could not recall that incident. His attention must have been elsewhere, he decided. "Oh yeah, I remember. Richard Kiley…"

"What?"

"During the tour, Richard Kiley narrated the audio guide in the cars."

"The actor?"

"Yeah."

"It must've cost them a bundle."

"They spared no expense," Alan muttered.

"I've heard you say that before. Where'd you get it?"

"Hammond… He kept saying it. I guess it stuck with me."

"You know, my uncle's a career Marine. Did two tours in Vietnam," Joe said. "He told me several of his friends suffered from nightmares and flashbacks when they came home. It seems to me, you people have been through a war of sorts. Maybe the same thing's happening to you."

"You might be right." He had associated that kind of reaction with combat veterans, but it would explain many of their symptoms. He reminded himself to discuss the issue with Ellie.

"It might be worthwhile to talk to a professional when you get home. A professional trained in this area might be able to help you. In the short term, I think I know a way to help. I bet you two could use a little time alone.

Alan laughed sharply. "Yeah, there's been a little disruption in the area. What do you have in mind?"

"There's a children's museum in town, how about I take Lex and Tim off your hands for a few hours?"

"Joe, you are a godsend." Although Joe did not have the same activities in mind he did, it would give them enough uninterrupted time to write.

* * *

Ellie surveyed the pathetic remains of her real estate empire; she now knew why she went into Paleobotany rather than real estate. Lex and Tim had finished her off in record time.

"Who's winning?" Alan asked, entering the suite with Joe.

"Well, I think we have two budding Donald Trump's among us," Ellie said.

"I warned you," Joe said with a smile.

Alan pulled a wad of currency out of his pocket. After repaying Joe, they possessed plenty of cash for anything they needed. "Well, we might be real estate poor, but we're currency rich. Everybody, Joe has an idea," he said, with a nod towards Joe.

"Yeah, I wondered if maybe Lex and Tim might want to take in a museum this afternoon," Joe said.

"What kind of museum is it?" Lex asked.

"Oh, you'll see, it's supposed to be cool for kids. So how about it?"

"I'm in," Tim said.

"Me, too," Lex said.

"Great then."

"Guys, before you go, let me give you some spending money." He counted out and handed each of them about $10 worth of Colons.

"Thanks!" Tim said.

"Yeah, thanks a lot," Lex said

"We'll be back later," Joe said.

"We'll be here," Alan said.

"Have fun," Ellie said.

"Where's he taking them?" Ellie asked Alan.

"It's a children's museum of some kind."

"Oh, think I know which one it is. I read about it in the guidebook. It looked like an interesting place."

Alan leaned against the kitchen counter, a crooked grin on his face. "He said we could use some time alone."

"How considerate of him." With a chuckle, Ellie stood and walked to him. Putting her arms around his neck, she kissed him slowly.

He kissed her back harder, more insistent.

"What about our project?" she asked.

"What project?" he murmured. The journal did not seem so important right then.

Ellie laughed, and caressed his side. "Don't be funny."

"We have plenty of time." He pulled back from her, and looked into her eyes. "To hell with the journal, we can work on it later."

"What about your back?"

Alan shrugged, and took her hand. "We'll improvise. Come on—let's make good use of the time."

* * *

With a mental outline, Alan began to write his journal, a virtual repeat of his previous statements to Morris, Olvera, and Pauley. "You know, we should keep Lex and Tim's names out of this," Alan said. 

"I think you're right, there's no reason to involve them."

After writing for several minutes, Ellie paused. "Let's proof it and write a final draft after we eat dinner."

Alan glanced at his watch. "Speaking of dinner, are we making the spaghetti sauce?"

Ellie nodded, as she returned to her task. "Uh-huh."

"As Tim would say—excellent!"

They laughed and returned to writing, working in silence. With the events fresh in their memories, they made quick work of their respective journals.

His writing done, he leaned back in his chair. "Finished?"

"I'm finishing...right now. The kids should be back soon, why don't we start the spaghetti sauce?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Alan said. After he placed the spirals and pens in the drawer, they crossed the distance to the kitchen.

Having made the marinara sauce many times, they knew the recipe by heart. From the refrigerator, Ellie took out the vegetables she would need. Lacking the blender she normally used to purée the tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley and oregano; she began to mash the ingredients together by hand.

Alan took out a pod of garlic and an onion from the refrigerator. He separated and peeled a clove of the garlic, and then began to chop both up. "I've been thinking about something. If Lynda will let him, and assuming we have a field season, how would you feel about Tim coming out to Montana next summer," Alan said.

"Oh, I know Tim would love to come. I bet Lex would like to come, too. I guess you've seen she has a crush on you."

"Yeah, it's hard to miss, but I can't for the life of me figure out why. I'm old enough to be her father," he scoffed.

"It's funny the way crushes happen to teenage girls. Personally, I think she shows great taste in men."

Alan rolled his eyes. "You're not jealous are you?" he asked, his expression mischievous

Ellie laughed, as she chopped a bunch of parsley. "Oh, I think I'm secure enough to deal with a 14-year-old. Speaking of jealous, I detected you were a bit jealous of Malcolm, weren't you?"

"Me? What do you mean?" he asked, his expression a mask of innocence.

"Come on, Alan, admit it."

"Well, who wouldn't be, he hit on you every chance he got, and you enjoyed it, too."

"Alan, Ian was funny and sweet, but you don't have a thing to worry about. Besides, I got the feeling he wasn't a one-woman man."

"He told me the same thing, in so many words."

"When?"

"Right before everything went to hell. I asked him if he was married, and he said he was always on the lookout for the next ex-Mrs. Malcolm."

Ellie smiled, and shook her head. It sounded like something he would say. "Did he have any children?"

"Three of them."

"How sad," she said. "I wonder what they told his family."

"Not much, probably."

Why would he talk about marriage to Malcolm, Ellie wondered. Pondering the riddle, she continued to mash the tomato mixture.

"Do we have a skillet?" Alan asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"Uh, we do somewhere. Wait... it's in the bottom cabinet on the right."

Locating the skillet, Alan placed it on the stove and turned on the burner. He heated some olive oil, then dumped the onions and garlic into the pan to sauté. Afterwards, he reduced the flame. "I'm ready for everything else."

Ellie added the tomato mixture to the skillet, and sprinkled in a teaspoon of oregano and parsley. As a last step, she shook in salt and pepper, and placed a top on the skillet.

Ellie watched him open the cabinets, one after another. "What are you looking for?"

"A spaghetti strainer. It's going to be hard to cook spaghetti without one."

Ellie realized they did not have one. "You're right." They both began to look in earnest for something suitable. "Damn," Ellie said. "You know, the restaurant should have an extra one, let's see if we can borrow one."

"Or we could borrow a tennis racket."

Ellie laughed while she dialed the front desk extension.

"Hi Manuel, this is Ellie Sattler in suite five. We have a small problem. We're cooking pasta, but we don't have a strainer. Would it be possible to borrow one from the restaurant?"

"I'm sure we can arrange it, Dr. Sattler. I'll speak to the chef and have one sent over."

"Thanks a lot." She hung up the phone and looked at Alan. "Done deal," she said

"It might have been fun to try the tennis racket." He joined her on the couch and propped his stocking feet on the table.

Ellie patted his thigh. "Today was good. We improvised pretty well, I would say."

"I think so, too. And it was good for me, too." Joe had been right; they needed the time alone.

"Say, we should ask Joe to dinner," she said. "We have plenty for everyone."

"Yeah, good idea. We should do something for him after everything he's done for us." As important as the journal might prove to be, they could finish tomorrow and send it afterwards.

"I explained to Lex and Tim what we're doing, and they promised they wouldn't tell Joe," Ellie said. "I was thinking. When Lynda gets here, it might be a good idea to have a talk with the kids about what they should and should not say to people."

Alan nodded. "Good idea. I think they're going to be reluctant to talk about the park anyway, but it can't hurt anything to discuss it with them."

"What's she like?"

"Lynda? I like her. She feels guilty for letting the kids come to Jurassic Park. I think, she has a lot on her plate right now with the divorce and everything."

"Lex told me what's happening between her and her mother. It sounds a lot like what happens sometimes between a mother and a teenage daughter. Add in a divorce and a diet that Lynda doesn't approve of and you have conflict."

"I wondered about it. Did you go through a teenage rebellion with your mother?"

Ellie nodded. "Sure. I grew up with many of the same issues Lex has. I blamed my mother for their divorce, and I took it out on her."

"Things worked out okay between the two of you. Hopefully, the same thing will happen with Lex and Lynda."

"I hope so. What about you? You're close to your parents now; did you go through a teenage rebellion?" Ellie asked.

"Well, I had my moments, but my brother was the teenage rebel in the family," Alan said with a laugh, remembering his brother's propensity to get into trouble during those years. "He grew out of it, fortunately."

Ellie joined in the laughter. "He's a sweetheart." She and Stan had talked about Alan, and she suspected even as an adult, Stan still considered his older brother to be his hero. "She said her father hasn't been around much since her parents split."

Alan's expression darkened with anger. "I don't understand how somebody can be a part of creating a new life, and then leave without a look back."

Surprised at the anger in his voice, she glanced at him, and wondered why he would care. _Another riddle…_

After a few moments, they both closed their eyes, and slipped into a comfortable silence; enjoying the peace and quiet. They both jumped when the phone rang. Ellie reached for the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi... I got your message," Abbey said.

"Oh, hi, Mom."

"So you got the money?"

"Alan made the withdrawal this afternoon. Thanks so much for sending it."

"I'm glad to do it. If you need more let me know."

"I think we're good to go for the duration."

"Good. What have you been doing?"

"Well, we talked to the Costa Ricans today."

"I see. Do you have any idea when you're coming home?"

"Not yet."

"Ellie, forgive me for being curious, but aren't they going to a lot of trouble for an accident?"

"Well, the accident happened under unusual circumstances."

"Oh... You know, I'm surprised I haven't seen anything about it in the news."

Ellie grimaced; of course, she would look for news of the accident. "How interesting. I guess since the park is in another country, and it hasn't opened yet, the story wouldn't be a big deal to an American news agency." She hoped the answer would satisfy her curiosity.

"I guess you're right," Abbey said.

The door opened, interrupting her thoughts, and she watched Joe and the two children walk in, talking with enthusiasm.

Tim hurried to Alan, a broad smile on his face. "Alan, you should have seen the museum," Tim said.

"Tell me about it," Alan said.

Ellie heard her mother speaking, but with all the background noise, she could not hear what she said. She raised her hand for quiet, and the suite fell silent.

"I'm sorry Mom, I couldn't hear you."

"I asked who was speaking," she said. "I didn't recognize the voices."

Ellie could tell by her tone that the unfamiliar voices had stirred her curiosity. "Uh—his name is Tim. He and his sister are staying with us while we're here."

"Tim and his sister? Are these children?"

"Yes, they are," she said.

"And Alan hasn't had them drawn and quartered yet?"

Ellie laughed; although fond of him, her mother was aware of Alan's supposed dislike of children, she knew the conflict between them worried her.

"No, not yet, he likes them."

"Ellie—oh, never mind, I know what you'll say."

"I'm sorry, Mom. Don't worry about us, we'll be fine."

"Well, I'll worry about you anyway. I'll let you go so you can talk to your young friends. If you need anything, let me know."

"I will."

"Good night."

"Bye, Mom."

"Curious?" Alan asked.

Ellie nodded. "I hate to put her off. So, tell us about the museum?"

"Ellie, I loved it!" Tim said. "We got to do all kinds of experiments and projects and stuff."

"I had a great time, too," Lex said. "Hey, something smells good. Are we having spaghetti?" Lex asked.

"We sure are," Ellie said. "Joe, why don't you stay for dinner?"

"I wouldn't want to intrude."

"You're not intruding, at all," Alan said.

"Mr. Reiling, please stay," Tim said.

After a few moments, Joe smiled. "Okay, he twisted my arm enough. I'd love to stay for dinner," he said, with a smile.

"Good deal," Alan said. He heard a knock at the door, and started to rise.

"I'll get it," Ellie said. She opened the door; before her stood one of the hotel's employees, holding a spaghetti strainer.

"Excuse me _Señora_, you asked for this?"

"Yes, we did, thank you," Ellie said, taking the strainer from the man.

"Of course, _Señora_, have a good day."

After Ellie closed the door, she heard the low rumble of thunder outside. "Sounds like we have weather moving in." Opening the doors, she stepped out onto the patio, followed by the others. The smell of rain hung in the air, a smell she loved.

"I saw the clouds moving in on the way back from the museum," Joe said.

Alan could see a line of thunderstorms in the distance, approaching fast. Beside him, Tim flinched at the next clap of thunder. The one after, louder than the last, sent him skittering back into the suite.

Lex followed her brother. Alan exchanged a look with Ellie. Afraid Lex would tease her brother; they went inside, where they found her sitting beside Tim, her arm around his shoulder.

"Hey, Timmy, are you all right?" Lex asked.

Tim shook his head. "I guess I don't like storms anymore," Tim said, his eyes filled with tears. "They didn't bother me…before last weekend."

Ellie held her arms open in invitation. "Come here." The boy moved into her arms and placed his head against her shoulder.

Alan's anger surged and he walked over to the patio door. Running his hand through his hair, he stared out the door into the distance. After a few moments, Joe joined him.

"You know, what infuriates me the most about all of this?" Alan quietly asked. "I got myself and Ellie into this mess, but those two kids did nothing but trust the adults in their lives, and look what it got them." Ellie's jumpiness, Lex's nightmare, and Tim's sudden fear made his insides churn in anger and anxiety. What would come next, he wondered.

"I know. It's too bad they have to suffer because of InGen's mistakes."

Ellie watched Alan turn and gaze at the boy, his expression anguished, compassionate. They exchanged a glance and he returned to their side.

After a few moments, Tim took a deep breath. "I'm all right now."

"Are you sure?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, how about we get the spaghetti on?" Alan said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Great," Tim said, his expression brightening.

"I'll fix the spaghetti," Alan said.

"Okay then, I'll toss the salad," Ellie said.

Alan filled a large pan with water, added some salt, and put the water to boil. Lex watched him with fascination, and once again, he wondered why she found him so interesting.

"I can't believe you cook," Lex said.

Alan chuckled. "Well, boiling water isn't cooking, but I can handle myself around the kitchen," he said, with a touch of pride. With those words, he found himself in the past, back in Montana, in their lab while Hammond tried to convince them to go to the island._ I can handle myself around the kitchen_, Hammond had said. He was not surprised to see Ellie look at him, her expression disturbed. He knew she had made the connection. He took a deep breath, swallowed compulsively, attempting to shake it off. He wondered if Jurassic Park would forever haunt their memories.

"We have somebody cook for us," Lex said, unaware of his discomfort. "Dad sometimes grilled hamburgers, but he usually burned them."

With a small sigh, Ellie lifted the top to the skillet and sniffed. "Alan, have you sampled the sauce?"

"Nope, you be the guinea pig."

Ellie took out a spoon, dipped it in the sauce, and blew on it for a moment. After tasting the sauce, she nodded. "It needs a little salt," she said, sprinkling a little into the skillet.

"Who wants to set the table?" Alan said.

"I think Tim and I can handle the chore," Joe said.

"Ellie, the spaghetti is terrific," Joe said.

"Thank you," Ellie said.

"Hey, I helped, too," Alan said.

Joe cleared his throat in a dramatic fashion. "Alan, excellent job."

"Thank you," he said, and everyone laughed. "More wine, anyone?" he asked, pouring himself another glass.

"I'd love some," Ellie said. Despite his rough-hewn public persona, over time he revealed to her an impressive knowledge of wine.

"I could use some," Joe said.

"Why don't we retire to the living room," Ellie suggested, after Alan had refilled everyone's wine glass.

"Alan, can we go play video games?" Tim asked.

Alan exchanged glances with Ellie, and they both shrugged. "Sure," Alan said. "You'll need to get some change at the front desk."

"And be sure you take a room key," Ellie said.

"Oh, yeah," Lex said, picking up a key from the desk. "We'll be back later."

They moved into the living room; Alan and Ellie settled on the couch and Joe in one of the side chairs.

"Joe, thanks for taking them to the museum," Ellie said.

"I trust you used the time well," Joe said with a grin.

Ellie raised her eyebrows, and glancing at Alan, she smiled. "Oh yes, we did."

* * *

Lex watched helplessly as her last player collapsed and died. "Oh, man..." Lex said. 

"Ha! Got you again," Tim said.

"Yeah, yeah."

While Lex wandered from machine to machine, Tim continued playing until his game was over. For a moment, he debated whether to start another game, then decided to save the rest of his money for later. "I think I'm finished." He hesitated before speaking. "Lex?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't tell anybody I started crying because of the storm, okay?" Tim said.

"I won't, if you don't tell anybody I bawled like I did the other night."

"I promise," he said, shaking hands with his sister. He did not see anything wrong with Lex crying, she was a girl after all.

"Tim, do you ever wish Alan and Ellie could be our parents?"

"Sometimes," Tim admitted. "It's like having a real family, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is. Well, we'd better get back."

"Alan, there's something I've been meaning to ask you," Joe said.

"Sure, fire away..."

"I've been wondering how Jurassic Park is going to change your research?"

"Hmm—good question." He gathered his thoughts, before speaking. "How much do you understand about gene splicing and genetic engineering?"

"Not much. I studied the subject a little bit in college, and I understand the basic concept of InGen's research."

Alan nodded. "Because InGen didn't get intact DNA strands from the amber, they used amphibian DNA to complete the cycle."

"Right."

Alan nodded again. "The most important question is; did the foreign DNA affect the size and appearance, even the behavior of the animals. The raptors were enormous, much larger than any skeleton I've seen or heard about."

"Muldoon's description sounded scary as hell."

"Scary doesn't do them justice. I've spent a great deal of time studying the behavior of present-day predators and nothing comes close to them in terms of size, intelligence, and aggression. Nothing does..."

"My brother should be here, he would love this," Joe said. "He's been a huge dinosaur fan all his life. I think my parents expected him to grow out of it, but he never really did. To this day, he keeps track of what's happening in the field."

Alan smiled. "It happens, sometimes we become paleontologists."

"And paleobotanist's, too," Ellie said.

Joe chuckled. "He considered it."

Alan smiled. "Even if I wanted to publish anything about Jurassic Park, as far as I'm concerned, it would be nothing more than my opinion. I would have no way to defend what I published, because I wouldn't know if a particular behavior was dinosaur or amphibian influenced."

"So we'll do what we've always done," Ellie said

"Dig dinosaur fossils," Alan said, nodding.

"I see," Joe said.

"How'd you do?" Joe asked, as the children returned.

"I beat Lex," Tim said.

"You can't beat me in anything else," Lex said.

"You wait till I'm bigger."

"Lex—Tim," Alan said, to halt the argument before it escalated.

"Sorry," Lex said.

"Well, I'd better get going," Joe said, chuckling at the kid's argument. "I've got an early meeting tomorrow and I'm happy to say this one has nothing to do with Jurassic Park."

"I'm glad to hear it," Alan said.

"Thanks again for the dinner. I'm not much of a cook, and it's been awhile since I've enjoyed a home-cooked meal."

"You're welcome any time. Have a good night," Ellie said.

"You too, Ellie."

Alan closed the door and turned to face Ellie. "You want to work on the journal tonight or wait till tomorrow?"

"I'm game if you are," she said.

"Sure, why not." They cleared the table, and Ellie took the spirals out of the drawer and handed him his. "There's a couple of points I want to add."

"Yeah, me too," he said. "Guys, can you amuse yourselves for a little while we finish our journal?"

"Sure, I want to read my book," Tim said.

"I can read mine, too," Lex said.

"Good," Ellie said.

Alan added a few additions to his rough draft, and then began copying the draft. Finished at last, Alan tossed his pen on the table; he noted Ellie had completed her copy a few minutes earlier. "I'm done—want to take a look at mine?"

"Yeah."

They began to read each other's work. He took her hand, and gave it a gentle squeeze, after he finished reading her account of the shed. "I'm so sorry you went through so much."

"All I care about is you're all alive," Ellie said. "Alan, if any of you died because of what I did." She stopped speaking, unable to say the words.

Alan could not help but see the terrible guilt in her eyes. "Hey, there…." he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Honey, without you, Lex wouldn't have been able to get the computers working. You don't have anything to feel guilty about."

"I guess so…" After a few moments, she took a deep breath. "Do you want to send it by Fed Ex?" she asked.

Alan nodded. "We can send it to Charley's. They'll hold it for Ben." A favored hangout of the diggers, they used the combination restaurant and bar for UPS and Federal Express deliveries.

Alan walked over and opened the patio doors. Intent on his task, he had not realized the rain had stopped, leaving the air fresh and clean. "Say, how would you like to give the Jacuzzi a whirl?"

"I would love to," Ellie said.

"Alan?" Tim asked.

"Yes, Tim, you can go swimming," Alan said.

"Come on Lex, let's go change," Ellie said, laughing.

After Alan and the boy changed into their swimsuits, they sat on the couch to wait for the others. "What are we going to do tomorrow?" Tim asked.

"Well, we have to send the journals back to Montana, and Ellie's been reading her guidebook so she may have some ideas."

"Oh, okay."

Ellie and Lex came out of the bedroom; their swimsuits covered by a gauzy over shirt. "We're ready."

"Excellent," Tim said.

They leisurely walked to the pool, and Ellie slipped her hand into his. "I didn't think I was ever going to get a look at your swimsuit," Alan said.

"You know what they say. Good things come to those who wait."

"Easy for them to say," he said, slipping his arm around her.

They stopped at the Jacuzzi. "Guys, we'll be in here." They put their towels and room key on a poolside table.

"Cool," Lex said.

Ellie slipped the cover off her swimsuit off with measured slowness to tease him. "What do you think?"

The one-piece, solid black swimsuit fit her well, accenting her figure. "Honey, it's gorgeous," he said.

Ellie slid into the warm churning water, and Alan sat beside her. "Why, thank you, sir. You don't look so bad yourself," Ellie said, putting her hand on his thigh.

"Naw… I'm an old fossil."

The Jacuzzi massaged her thigh muscle, which remained slightly sore. "Ha… I wish all our fossils looked like you."

"We need to get one of these," he said.

"You think the university would pay for a portable one at the dig site?"

"Oh, I'm sure they would. I could write it up as a miscellaneous expense..."

* * *

Thanks to Yvonne for her terrific editing 

Silverene-Thank you so much for reading!


	12. Chapter 11

Thanks Yvonne!

* * *

Wide-awake, Alan snapped upright in bed. Wet with perspiration; every sense on alert, he peered into the dim light, searching for the intruder. Except for the sound of crickets outside, silence permeated the bedroom. There was no one in the room. 

Alan looked at the bedside clock and groaned. _Damn, 3 a.m... _He lay back for a few minutes, but too agitated; he could not relax and go back to sleep. With a frustrated sigh, he walked into the living room. Tim was sound asleep; and for a moment, he envied the boy's untroubled sleep. He slipped out onto the patio, and collapsed in one of the patio chairs. He could not recall a nightmare, only his tense awakening. He propped his hands behind his head, stared at the stars, and tried to relax.

"Tim, time to get up," Alan said. Showered and shaved, he at least looked presentable. The second night of interrupted sleep left him exhausted; perhaps he would feel better after breakfast. 

"Okay," the boy answered reluctantly, and with a yawn, climbed out of bed. "You guys get up too early."

"Early? It's 7:30 already," Ellie said. "You should see us in the field. We're at work before six under spotlights when it's hot."

"Oh, man," he moaned, sleepily walking into the bedroom.

Ellie smiled at the boy's retreating form, then turned her attention towards Alan. Concerned about his continuing fatigue, Ellie slipped her arm around his waist and gave him a peck on the cheek. "You didn't sleep well, did you? Did you have a nightmare?"

Shrugging, he kissed her back. "I don't think so. I woke up all of a sudden, and thought someone was in the room. I couldn't get back to sleep." He caressed her cheek. "Hey, I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah…"

Ellie frowned doubtfully, but did not say anything further. She sat on the couch to wait for Lex and Tim to return.

* * *

Upon their return from breakfast, Alan glimpsed the message light blinking on the phone. "I'll check the message." Maybe it would be the phone call releasing them from their captivity. _Dream on, Grant_…

"I'm going to be an optimist. Maybe it'll be time for us to go home," Ellie said.

Alan dialed the front desk extension. "You're reading my mind," Alan said. "Morning, Manuel. Working the morning shift today?"

"Yes, sir," Manuel said.

"It looks like I have a message."

"You actually have two messages. One is from Mr. Reiling at the American Embassy, and the other is from a Dr. Rothman. He said you could reach him at the university."

"Right, I have the number." He decided to call Joe first to check for any fresh news.

"Fine sir, can I help you with anything else?"

"No, that's all — oh wait — We need to ship a package to Montana. Does Federal Express make pickups here at the hotel?"

"They do. The next scheduled pickup will be tomorrow morning."

Alan grimaced at the news. "Are there any shipping centers in town? We'd like to get the package off today if possible."

"Yes, sir, there are several centers in town. I would think they could have it sent today. If you can hold for a minute, I'll get the address of the nearest one."

"Thanks." Manuel put him on hold, and Alan grabbed the pen and paper they kept by the phone. After a few seconds, the man came back on the line and Alan copied the address.

"Can we get you a taxi?" Manual asked.

From their previous trips away from the hotel, Alan knew of a taxi stand, a block away, in front of a park. "We'll walk to the taxi stand."

"Good day, Dr. Grant."

"Thanks, you, too." He folded the paper in half, and stuffed it into his shirt pocket. "Joe called, and so did Nathan Rothman."

While Alan dialed the embassy, Ellie settled next to him. "I bet Nathan talked to Ben."

"More than likely. Hey, I've got the address of a Federal Express office," he said. "They won't pickup from the hotel until tomorrow. If we send it from the shipping place, they should get it off today."

"Good," she said.

The embassy's receptionist put him on hold; a few seconds later, he heard Joe's voice.

"Hey, Alan, good morning."

"Morning, Joe. How'd the meeting go?"

"Boring."

Alan laughed heartily. "I can sympathize. You should take in some of our faculty meetings. They're guaranteed to cure insomnia."

"I can imagine. Say, do you need to do any running around today? I'm free this afternoon."

"Well, we've decided we're going to be brave and explore on our own today."

"Without your faithful guide? I'm hurt."

"Poor thing, I'm sorry to hurt your feelings."

"Well, if you insist on venturing out on your own, I won't stand in your way," Joe said with a laugh. "Any word from the Costa Ricans?"

"Not a word."

"Good, I hope it stays that way. Hey, thanks again for the dinner."

"Anytime, Joe."

"Well, have fun today."

"We will, I'll talk to you later."

"You, too."

"Did he want to cart us around?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah, I had to think of something fast." Alan dialed Rothman's number at the university. The call connected and he heard the voice of Nathan's secretary. "Dr. Rothman's office, Jean speaking, may I help you?"

"Jean, this is Alan Grant. I hear Nathan's been looking for me."

"Hi, Alan. Yes, he has. How's the dig going?"

"Well, the season's been a bit spotty, but we did find a juvenile _Velociraptor_ last week." After spending the summer in a mostly unsuccessful hunt for the predators which occupied the region, he would finish the season dissatisfied with their results. Although fewer in number than the dinosaurs they preyed on, the predator's skeleton's existed somewhere in the area, which the raptor proved. The riddle both intrigued and frustrated him.

Unfortunately, that line of research would have to wait. Intending for his entire team to return to the Two-Medicine formation next year, an ongoing political squabble between the Interior Department and some of the local citizens forced them to move west to the Hell Creek area next year. Fortunately, he had received permission for a small team to finish extracting the raptor.

"Oh, good. I'll put you through," Jean said.

"Thanks, Jean," Alan said.

It would not make any difference if he could not replace Hammond's funding. The hunt for replacement funds would begin as soon as they returned to Denver.

A few moments later, Nathan came on the line.

"Alan, can you hold for a moment? I need to ditch this other line."

Before Alan could answer, the line went back to the canned music. The music stopped again and Rothman came back on the line.

"Sorry. Tell me about this park accident?"

"Nathan, it's a long story."

"I have time."

Alan sighed, then repeated the consultant story. The story came easier each time he told it.

"Ben said some people died."

"Yeah, my investor, for one. It was a bad scene."

"Unbelievable. At least you and Ellie are okay."

Physically, at least, he wasn't sure about the emotional part. "Nathan, I don't think we're going to make it back in time for the term to start, so we've arranged for Parker Dixon and Jan Thompson to cover our classes for us."

"Okay, I'll have a talk with them when they get in."

"Can you do me a favor? Karen's due back tomorrow, can you let her know what's going on?"

"Sure, no problem. Do you have any idea how long you'll be there?"

"They won't give us an answer. The embassy's trying to help, but at the moment the Costa Ricans hold all the cards." He glanced at the spirals on the table. _Well, maybe not all the cards.._.

"He said some kids are staying with you."

"Yeah, Hammond's grandkids."

"Ben's quite amazed, in fact he said you must be a pod person."

Alan laughed. "I'll get him for that." He heard Nathan chuckle.

"Well, let me know if you need anything."

"Will do. I'll talk to you soon."

"Tell Ellie hello for me."

"I will. Talk to you later." Alan placed the phone back into its cradle. "Nathan says hello." He checked the time. "Ready to hit the road?"

"Sure, let's go."

"Head 'em up, move 'em out," Tim called out.

Ellie placed the spirals in her backpack, and behind her, she heard Alan chuckle. "What is it?"

"Ben thinks I'm a pod person."

"Why?"

Alan pointed to Lex and Tim and Ellie understood at once. It sounded like something he would say.

They strode to the taxi stand and stopped beside a battered station wagon at the head of the line; the driver, leaning against the door, glanced from his newspaper to Alan.

"Do you need a taxi,_ Señor_?" the man asked in Spanish.

"Do you by any chance speak English?" Alan asked. He remembered a phrase he had heard before. "Eh…_Usted habla inglés_?"

The man shook his head. "No, _Señor."_

With a grin, he handed the paper to Ellie. "Want to handle this?"

Ellie showed the cab driver the address of their destination. "Can you take us here?" she asked in Spanish.

The man looked at the address and nodded. "_Sí, Señora_."

"_Gracias_."

The driver skillfully negotiated the city traffic, and soon they pulled alongside the Federal Express shop.

"I can not park here, I will have to go around the block," the driver answered, gesturing in a circle.

"Fine, we'll be back soon," she said.

The driver nodded and they climbed out of the cab.

"He can't park, so he's going to circle the block," Ellie said.

"I see," Alan said.

"May I help you?" the clerk asked.

"Yes, we need to ship a package to the United States," Alan said, relieved the woman spoke English. For a moment, he wished he'd studied Spanish instead of German in school.

"Please let me know when you're ready to check out."

"We will."

After Alan chose the shipping envelope, Ellie placed the spirals in the envelope, while he took one of the address labels and began to fill it out. He wrote Charley's address on the label and used their phone number at the dig for a contact number.

"_Señor_, how would you like this sent?" the woman asked, after they prepared the box.

"We'd want to send it the fastest way possible," Alan said.

"The international priority service will be the quickest." The woman quickly checked a chart. "The package will be collected this afternoon, and the delivery will be the day after tomorrow, in the afternoon."

"We'll send it that way, then," Alan said. "How much do I owe you?"

"The charge will be 32,425 Colons,_ Señor_."

While he counted the Colons, Alan mentally did the math and guessed it to be about $68. He handed the woman a number of Colons, and she gave him some change.

The woman handed him a few Colons in return. "Have a good day,_ Señor_."

"Thanks."

They walked outside, and peered down the street, searching for their taxi. "Bad timing, he must be going around the block," Ellie said.

"He'll be back," Alan said, with a grin. "We haven't paid him yet." His attention drawn to the hat shop next to the Federal Express center, he walked over to the window to inspect the hats on display.

Taking note of his interest, the others joined him at the window; before he could suggest they go in the store, he heard the beeping of a car horn, signifying the return of their taxi. A new hat would have to wait until their return to Denver.

Entering the taxi, a germ of an idea began to form in Ellie's mind. Instead of a wallet, did she dare buy him a new hat for his birthday? She had not seen the style he wore in the display, but they might have one inside the store. Although particular about his hats, she felt confident she could pick one he would like. But how could she sneak off without him?

"Alan, do you have anything planned for this morning?" Ellie asked.

"Not a thing, what do you have in mind?"

"Well, I bet Tim and Lex might want a morning swim. Am I right?"

"Definitely," Tim said.

"Same here," Lex said.

"You know, I think I'll join you," Ellie said. "Alan, how about it? Want to join us?"

"I think I'll stand guard. I'd like to take a look at the guidebook you bought."

Ellie unlocked the suite, and the two children raced into the bedrooms to change. "Okay."

"I bet I can beat you back," Tim said.

"I bet you can't," Lex shot back.

"I'll be back in a minute," she said.

Alan relaxed on the couch, relieved to have done something proactive, even if they never made use of the journals. He detested being passive, at someone else's whim.

Tim returned first, soon followed by Lex. "Ha! I won," Tim said.

Lex plopped into one of the side chairs. "Big deal," Lex said, with a dismissive sigh. "Ellie said she'd be out in a minute."

"Sounds good," Alan said.

Soon, Ellie returned, and handed him the guidebook. "I'm ready," she said. Making their way to the pool, they passed by the front desk.

"Looks like someone's going swimming," Manuel said.

"You got it!" Lex said.

"Did you get the package off?" Manuel asked.

"Yes, we did," Alan said.

A loud crash behind them caused them to flinch and press together, the children clutching at the adults. All eyes turned to the source of the noise; one of the hotel's employees had knocked over a sign in the lobby.

"Are you folks okay?" Manuel asked.

"Uh, yeah. Sorry..." Ellie said, laughing nervously. "We've been a little jumpy since the boating accident."

"I understand. Enjoy yourself."

"Thanks," Alan said.

"We sure did jump," Lex said, clutching at her chest.

"We sure did. Do you think we'll always be like this?" Tim asked.

"Eventually we'll all get back to normal," Alan said. "It's going to take a while, but it'll get better."

Tim nodded, but remained silent.

The kids placed their towels on a table and jumped into the pool, and Ellie slipped off the cover to her swimsuit. Diving into the pool, she began to swim laps.

Alan took a seat in one of the pool chairs and watched Ellie swim for a while, then began to read the guidebook. Engrossed in the book, he did not notice a man approach.

"Dr. Grant?"

Alan looked from the book to the man, in khakis and work shirt, who stood before him. "Yes?"

"The front desk clerk said I would find you here," the man said. "My name is Marty Guitierrez, Dr. Marty Guitierrez, from the Carara station. I found the _Procompsognathus_ specimen."

Alan shook the man's hand. "Oh, right." He caught Ellie's attention, and gestured for her to join them. She climbed out of the pool and approached them. "Hi," she said, looking at Guitierrez with curiosity.

"Dr. Sattler, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Ellie, this is Dr. Guitierrez," Alan said. "He discovered the Compy specimen."

"Oh, I see," Ellie said.

"It's a shame you both became involved in this. I know you and Dr. Sattler would like to get home."

"We would, as soon as possible," Ellie said. "We only have a few days left to finish the season before winter sets in."

"Dr. Sattler and I have classes to teach, too," Alan said. He motioned to the chair next to him. "Have a seat," he said, curious to discover what information the man possessed. Ellie put her swimsuit cover on, and took the seat beside him.

"Thank you," Guitierrez said. "I'm sure it's the reason the Hammond Foundation supported northern digs. Perhaps they hoped to get more intact DNA material from cold climates."

"Perhaps," Alan said. Guitierrez' words echoed his conversation with Morris. With irritation, bordering on anger, he realized once again that InGen had played him like a fiddle

Guitierrez watched the two children for a moment. "Are those John Hammond's grandchildren?"

"Yes," Alan said.

"Such a brilliant man, it's a tragedy."

Alan did not respond. Hammond's arrogance far outweighed whatever brilliance he possessed.

Guitierrez glanced at the two scientists before speaking further. "Dr. Grant, Dr. Sattler, the authorities are afraid. Something odd is happening in some of the farming areas," Guitierrez said.

"The babies?" Ellie asked, her heart in her throat. Alan had filled her in on the attacks on the way to Choteau.

"No, the attacks have mercifully stopped. It's something else altogether. There have been strange tracks found in the Ismaloya Mountains this spring, and in a straight line, a group of animals moved from the coast into the mountains, then into the rain forest. They moved arrow straight, with no deviation from their course."

Alan stiffened; beside him, he observed the same reaction from Ellie. "Like a migration…" he whispered.

"How big were the tracks?" Ellie asked.

"The size of the tracks could not be verified," Guitierrez said. "I suspect the government has bribed the farmers to keep them quiet."

"Yes, that would make sense. What did they eat?" Alan asked.

"Sometimes chickens, otherwise soy and agama beans. It's a strange choice for food, don't you think?"

Alan exchanged a pointed glance with Ellie. _Not if you're lysine deficient_… "Where are the animals now?"

"They went into the rain forest. No one has seen them since."

They would be impossible to locate once they entered the rain forest, unless they wanted to be found. Whatever the species, they would be free to reproduce.

"That's why they won't let you go," Guitierrez said. "The government is worried there are more animals on the mainland," Guitierrez said, rising to his feet. He smiled and waved at the children, who hesitated, then waved back. "I'm sure they will let the children go soon. Dr. Grant, Dr. Sattler, Costa Rica is a stunning country. I hope you enjoy your stay."

"I get the feeling we're not going anywhere, any time soon."

Guitierrez smiled at both of them. "Dr. Grant, no one is going anywhere. Have a good afternoon." The man turned and walked back into the hotel.

Alan watched Guitierrez walk away, mulling over the conversation. He remembered reading in a brochure that the island was over 100 miles from the mainland. How could the animals have crossed the distance? It would be impossible for a small dinosaur such as a _Procompsognathus_ to swim the distance. Could InGen have turned them loose on the mainland? He at once dismissed the possibility; the company would never have willingly allowed the animals out of their control.

Lex climbed out of the pool and walked towards them. "Who was that? I don't know him, but he acted like he knew us."

"He's a researcher we're familiar with," Ellie said. "He came by to say hello."

"Oh, okay." Satisfied, and without further comment, Lex jumped back into the pool.

"Do you think any Raptors could have escaped?" Ellie asked.

"I don't know. I hope not. Even if they have, I'm sure they'll stay out of the cities," he said, noting her sudden unease.

"Do you think so?"

"Yeah, I do. They would have plenty of food sources in the rain forest, so they would have no reason to go near civilization." He hoped it to be true. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

Ellie shook her head. "Don't be sorry, I don't want you to keep anything from me. It might scare me, but I want to know."

Alan nodded. "How about some lunch?"

"Sounds good to me."

Alan stood and walked to the edge of the pool, and the two kids swam over to his side of the pool. "You guys getting hungry?"

"I am," Tim admitted. "Come on Lex, I'll race you out of the pool."

* * *

Walking past to the front desk, Emanuel caught Alan's attention, and gestured his way.

"Dr. Grant, there was a man looking for you."

Alan nodded. "He found us."

"Good. You're a popular person this morning. You have another message. Mr. Kincannon called."

He glanced at Ellie. "I was going to call him later and tell them about the package."

"I'll fix lunch," Ellie said.

"Okay, I'll give Ben a call," Alan said.

"What does everybody want?" Ellie asked.

"Peanut butter and jelly is fine with me," Lex said. "I love peanut butter and jelly."

"Works for me," Alan said.

"Me, too," Tim said.

"With bananas, right?"

"Yep!" Tim said.

While Ellie began to prepare lunch, Alan dialed their number in Montana.

"Yo, Kincannon here."

"Yo, yourself."

"Howdy, Alan. How's everything in Costa Rica?" Ben asked.

"We're fine." _Except for jumping out of our skins every time there's a loud noise_.

"No change?"

"Nope… Say, why aren't you out finishing the E-Saurus?" he asked in jest.

"Hey, somebody's got to do the paperwork."

Alan scowled; he usually kept the logs current. "Sorry..."

"No reason to be sorry. We're in the middle of a frog floater here, so nobody's doing any work today. I figured I'd get the logs caught up. We did get the raptor protected, and if the rain will stop, we'll get the E-Saurus finished. Let me tell you, that is one big sonofabitch."

"Yeah, it is," Alan said. Discovered by Ellie, Alan had nicknamed the _Miasaurus _"the Elliesaurus." In time, they had shortened the designation to E-Saurus.

"We're going to have to finish it quick. The weather guys are making noise about snow in a few days."

"Wonderful." Alan rubbed his head in newfound frustration.

"Tell me about it, it's already gotten cold. The rain is supposed to taper off today, so we'll finish it as soon as possible."

Alan considered the options if they could not finish the extraction. "There's not much left to do, if you can't finish it tomorrow, winterize what's left, and the crew we send can finish next year."

"Okay… Did you talk to Nathan?" Ben asked.

"Yeah, I talked to him this morning. Somebody sent me a fax of an x-ray right before we left. Do you see it anywhere?"

"Umm… Let me check."

Alan heard rustling on the other end of the phone.

"Nope, nothing here. I bet somebody tossed it."

"Probably. You sure you have enough people to haul everything back?"

"We're good to go. Dix is driving the trailer back to Bozeman."

"Thanks. Be sure, and tell him to tell Mike hello for us." For several years, as both a personal and professional courtesy, Mike Jamison had allowed them to store their research trailer at the Montana State University during the winter. Jamison, both friend and mentor to Alan, saved them hundreds of miles hauling the trailer back and forth to Denver each year.

"I'll tell him."

"Alan," Ellie called out from the kitchen. "The package."

"Oh, yeah… We're sending a package to you by Fed Ex," Alan said. "It should be there tomorrow afternoon."

"Sending it to Charley's?"

"Yeah. Take care of it, it could be important," Alan said, his tone serious.

Ben paused before he spoke. "Sure, I'll pick it up myself," he said, understanding Alan's tone. "Look, if you aren't back before we break camp, I'm going to send Sue back to Denver and stay in town until you get here."

Alan pursed his lips, then nodded. "That might be for the best."

"How are your boarders?"

"They're good. They just got out of the pool."

"Amazing."

"I know, it's not like me – and I'm not a pod person, either."

"Oops, you heard?"

"Uh huh…" Alan could see Ellie motioning to him. "Well, looks like lunch is ready."

"I'll talk to you later, buddy."

"Bye."

"Well, it's raining in Montana, so they haven't finished the Elliesaurus yet."

"Elliesaurus?" Tim said.

Alan nodded. "You got it. Ellie discovered a _Miasaurus_ a couple of summers ago, so we nicknamed it the Elliesaurus."

"You found a dinosaur? Cool!" Tim said.

"Tell 'em how you found it," Alan said with a grin.

"Well, I was prospecting a new section one day, keeping my eyes on the ground as a certain paleontologist preaches," she said, nudging Alan in the side. "I found a promising bone bed—" She paused when Lex looked at her in puzzlement.

"What's a bone bed?" Lex asked.

"It's a concentrated area filled with fossil fragments," Ellie said. "When we excavate a bone bed, sometimes we find a more complete skeleton, and a lot of the time we discover clues how the animals lived and died."

"Oh... I understand," Lex said.

"So, I marked the site and headed back to camp to tell everyone. On the way back, I happened to look up at a cliff face; I could see a large femur sticking out of the wall. If I hadn't glanced up, I'd never have spotted it. So see, sometimes you have to break the rules."

"Is a _Miasaurus_ a meat eater?" Lex asked.

"Nope, it's an herbivore. Timmy, what does _Miasaurus_ mean?" Alan asked.

"I know, it means 'good mother lizard'," he said, with pride. "Lex, Alan found the first _Miasaurus_ eggs and skeleton so he got to name the species."

"You did?" Lex said.

"Well, my team and I discovered it. Give the young man an A for the day." It would be a pleasure teaching Tim. He found the boy's enthusiasm contagious. "Ready to eat?"

"Yep," Tim said.

Along with the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Ellie decided to serve potato chips, oranges, some of the ginger cookies, and milk. She took a seat at the table and began to pass the dishes around. "I read about a museum which looked interesting. It's all about butterflies," Ellie said.

"Butterflies?" Alan asked.

"Uh huh, butterflies. It might be fun to go there this afternoon."

"I didn't get to that chapter." When Guitierrez had interrupted him, he had been reading about the history of Costa Rica. "You can do the honors. I think I'm going to take a nap this afternoon," Alan said.

"That's a good idea," Ellie said. He needed the rest, and it would give them a chance to shop for a new hat.

The phone began to ring and everyone paused, then looked at Alan. "I'll get it," he said, and wondered who would be calling. "Hello?"

"Dr. Grant?"

Alan did not recognize the voice. "Yes, this is Alan Grant," he said.

"Ah, good. My name is _Estaban Aldolfo Sánchez_. I am with the Costa Rican government. I would like to speak to you this afternoon at two this afternoon. Can you please be ready at one fifteen?"

_Oh, hell, not again_. "I'll be ready," he said, his voice grim.

"Thank you, Dr. Grant, I'll see you then."

Alan put the receiver into the phone, and muttered a curse under his breath.

Ellie noted Alan's slumped shoulders. "Alan, what's wrong?"

Alan turned around, walked back to the table, and then sat silently with his arms crossed in front of him.

"Alan?" she repeated, alarmed at his silence.

"My nap is going to have to wait," he said. "They're coming after me at one fifteen for more questioning, or whatever you want to call it."

"You're kidding?"

"Nope."

"Why do they want to talk to you?" Tim asked.

"Well, I guess they think I have more information they need."

Lex frowned. "They're mean."

Alan smiled at Lex. "They're not really being mean. They're concerned about what happened on the island." His words sounded empty as he said them; what more could they possibly want of him?

"You have an hour or so, you could catch a short nap," Ellie said.

Alan nodded. "I think I will."

After finishing his meal, he placed his dishes in the dishwasher, which they would run before dinner, then went and stood behind her, his hand lightly resting on her shoulder. "So, are you going to the museum?"

"Yeah, I think so. You don't mind, do you?"

"No, of course not, you guys have fun."

"We'll hang around until you leave. When do you want me to wake you?"

"How about 1:15?"

"Will do. Want me to make you some coffee?"

Alan shook his head. "I'll see you in a bit."

"Try to sleep, okay?"

"I will."

Lex watched Alan tread into the bedroom. "Ellie, is Alan all right? He seems really tired."

"Well, he's having a little trouble sleeping at night," she said.

Lex's face fell in sadness. "Oh… I wish I hadn't got him up the other night."

"You couldn't help it, kiddo. He doesn't blame you." She decided to tell the children about her birthday plans for Alan. "We have another little chore to do while we're out. The day after tomorrow is Alan's birthday, and I think we should get him a present."

"What are we going to get him?" Tim asked.

"Well, he misses having a hat, so I've decided to get him a new one if we can find the right style."

"At the hat shop?" Lex asked.

"Right. I want to go there and see if we can find one he might like."

"Can we get some wrapping paper?" Lex asked.

"And a cake?" Tim added.

"Hey, why not. After Alan leaves, we'll take off, but don't say anything, it'll be our secret."

Tim and Lex nodded with eagerness.

Remembering she would need the address, she looked through the pockets of her backpack, and after a few moments, she found the piece of paper with the address they would need.

After they cleared the table, with care, Tim carefully carried the cardboard with the completed section of the puzzle to the table, and took a seat.

"Hey, it's coming right along," Ellie said, studying the puzzle.

"Yeah," Tim said.

Ellie looked at the loose pieces, and choosing one, she placed the piece here and there until she found the correct location, then clicked it into place.

Lex drifted over and they all three began to fit the pieces in. They continued to work in companionable silence, until Ellie heard a far off rumble of thunder. Turning towards the window, she gazed outside. In the distance, she could see a line of thunderstorms approaching. According to the guidebook, afternoon thunderstorms occurred with frequency during this part of the year.

"Is it going to rain?" Tim said.

Although nervous, Tim seemed to lack the outright fear of the other night. "I think so," Ellie said. "I don't think the museum is such a good idea. According to what I read, some of it is in the open air. I don't think the butterflies will cooperate."

"Are we going to get Alan's hat?" Lex asked.

"I don't mind the rain if you don't. I'll do whatever you guys want to," she said.

"I don't mind the rain," Lex said.

"Me either," Tim said, with an air of defiance.

"Good." Ellie glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed. "I hate to do it, but it's time to wake Alan."

She went to Alan's bedroom and opened the door. In the dim light, she could see him stretched out, sleeping soundly. She wondered why his sleep could be so peaceful in the daytime, but so broken at night. She sat on the bed and watched him for a few moments, loath to wake him. Asleep, his expression was relaxed; the stress lines disappeared, leaving him looking years younger. At last, she knelt and placed a feathery kiss on his forehead. "Honey, it's time," she whispered.

"Hmm..." He rolled over onto his side, and took a deep breath. He opened his eyes halfway and looked at her, grinning sleepily.

"Have a good nap?" Ellie asked

He draped his arm over her legs. "I sure did. Time for my ride to come?"

"In about fifteen minutes."

"Wonderful," he said, sarcastically. He looked up when he heard the rumble of thunder. "Is it raining?"

"It's on its way. Part of the museum is open air, so I think I'll postpone the trip."

"I see." He stretched and sat up. "How's Tim?"

"He's a little uneasy, but much calmer than last night. Like everything else, I think it's something he will adjust to in time. Well, I'll let you get ready."

"Okay."

Turning on the lamp he blinked at the bright light, then reached for his boots. He realized little pain and stiffness remained from his injury. After a quick trip to the bathroom, he entered the living room.

"Hi," Lex said.

"Hey, guys," he said. He looked outside; though not raining yet, the gray clouds hung heavy in the sky. "It's too bad you can't go to the museum."

Tim glanced at Ellie before speaking. "Yeah, maybe we can go some other time."

"Right," Alan said, his mind turning to the questioning to come.

Ellie sensed his preoccupation, and left them alone.

A few minutes later, Alan heard a rap at the door. "Right on time," he muttered opening the door.

"Dr. Grant?"

Alan nodded.

'Good afternoon. I've come to escort you to _Señor_ _Sánchez_."

"I'm ready." He turned towards the others, and frowned. "See you later."

"Bye, honey," Ellie sadly.

Alan got into the car with the unidentified man. He wondered what new torment they would subject him to.


	13. Chapter 12

"Can we go now?" Tim asked, the second the door closed behind Alan and the man.

"Let's give them a couple of minutes to get away," Ellie said. "We don't want to run into him if they have to come back for some reason."

After a few minutes, Ellie decided enough time had elapsed. "Okay, let's go," she said to the eager children.

Mindful of the approaching rain, they quickly strode to the taxi stand. "Good morning, _Señora_," the cabbie said in English.

For a second, Ellie blessed her blond hair; although her Spanish improved every day, it remained more comfortable to speak English. She showed the man the address. "Hi, we need to go next door to this address."

"I can take you there," the man said, nodding.

"Great," she said.

Lex and Tim scrambled into the backseat, while Ellie took the seat next to the driver; a common practice she found.

"Ellie, how can we get a cake?" Tim asked.

"You know, I bet the hotel could arrange something. Let's talk to them when we get back," she said, turning to face them.

"Great."

Driving through the city, rain began to fall, the large drops splattering against the windshield. Arriving at their destination, the cab halted alongside the Federal Express office. "We need to go to the store next door," she said pointing to the hat store. "I know you can't park here, but could you keep the meter running and circle the block until we get back?"

"_Sí_, _Señora_."

"Great, we'll be back out in a few minutes."

The man nodded, and they climbed out of the taxi. Entering the shop, Ellie heard a bell tinkle behind her as the front door closed.

The clerk glanced from his paperwork to them as they approached. "Good afternoon. May I help you?" the clerk asked in Spanish.

Ellie smiled optimistically at the man. "Hi, do you speak English?"

"_Sí_, a little."

"Thank you. We're looking for a Fedora hat."

"_Señora_, we have several, please follow me." He led them to a display near the back of the store.

Looking over the hats, Ellie breathed out in disappointment. Although the store stocked several Fedora hats, none of them resembled an "Alan Grant" hat.

"Do you see the style you are looking for?" the clerk asked.

"No, I'm sorry I don't," she said. "Do you have any more Fedoras?"

"No, _Señora."_

"Too bad," Ellie said.

"Rats," Lex said

Ellie nodded in agreement. "Well, thank you for showing us the hats."

"Of course," the clerk said. "Have a good afternoon."

They plodded to the front of the store, and opened the door; Ellie noted the rain fell harder now. "Wait here until the cab comes back." She stepped outside and using the overhang for cover, she waited for the cab to return. She shook her head ruefully, realizing they should have purchased an umbrella during their first shopping trip.

In a minute or so, the taxi halted in front of the store. She ran out and opened the back door, and motioned for Lex and Tim to follow.

"No luck?" the cabbie asked.

"No, we're looking for a specific style, and they didn't have it," Ellie said.

"_Señora_, I know of another hat shop. They might have one there."

Ellie wondered if they would have time to visit another store before Alan returned to their suite. She decided to chance it. "Wonderful, can you take us there?"

"Of course."

Ellie turned around and smiled encouragingly at the two kids. "Guys, cross your fingers."

They drove through the rainy streets, stopping in front of a large store. _Mundo Del Sombrero, _the sign said _Hat World – I hope it is_...

"_Señora_, I can park here," their driver said.

"Thank you."

Entering the store, Lex and Tim fanned out to browse the aisles.

The clerk nodded to her amiably. "Good afternoon, ma'am. May I help you?" he asked in Spanish.

"Hi, do you speak English?" she asked.

"_Ninguna, Señora, no."_

_Oh, well, here we go_. "I would like to buy a Fedora style hat," Ellie said in Spanish. "Like an Indiana Jones hat." She wondered if the man knew who Indiana Jones was.

"Ellie, look at this one!" Tim said.

Ellie walked towards his voice and found Lex and Tim peering at an olive green Fedora on the top shelf. From a distance, she could see a definite likeness to Alan's old hat.

"May I see the green one, please?" she said to the clerk, who trailed behind her.

"_Sí, Señora._" The man stopped in midstride, looked at the hat, and chuckled. "Ah… Indiana Jones."

Ellie smiled and nodded; it seemed everyone knew who Indiana Jones was, after all.

The man retrieved the hat and passed it to Ellie. With a closer look, the hat had a wider brim, and hatband, otherwise, it closely matched the old one. She inspected the hat for a few moments, debating in her mind whether to buy it.

"Do you think Alan will like it?" Lex asked.

"You know, I think he will," Ellie said, turning the hat over to check the size. "It's his size, too." She turned to the clerk and nodded. _"_We'll take it," she said, in Spanish. "Do you have a hatbox?"

The man spoke rapidly in Spanish before disappearing into the storeroom.

"What did he say?" Tim asked.

"Something about getting a box in the back. I'm not sure what else he said."

"You're doing good with the Spanish." Lex said.

"Well, I'm guessing a lot," she said, with a laugh.

A short time later, the clerk came out with a large hatbox, which he set on the counter.

"Ah, _perfecto_. _Gracias_," she said.

The clerk put the hat into the box, and afterwards placed the box into a large sack. After paying for the hat, they left the shop, feeling triumphant. The rain had let up for the moment, and they stroll leisurely to their cab.

"Ellie, there's enough room back here for the box," Lex said, opening the back door to the taxi.

"Good idea." She placed the box beside Lex, and entered the front seat as before.

"You were successful, yes?" their cabdriver asked.

"Yes, we found the perfect hat," Ellie said. "Thank you for the suggestion. We need to find some gift wrap, too. You wouldn't by any chance know of a store where we can buy some do you?"

The man smiled. "_Sí, Señora_, I know of such a shop. My sister works there."

She would gamble a third time that Alan had not returned. "Wonderful! Lead on."

A few minutes later, the taxi pulled into a parking place in front of the store.

"We'll be back in a few minutes," Ellie said.

"Yes,_ Señora_," the man said.

Entering the store, Ellie glanced around the shop, which resembled a five and dime from her childhood days. "Good afternoon, _Señora_. May I help you?" the clerk asked.

"Yes, we need to get some gift wrap and a bow."

"You will find an extensive selection on aisle three."

"Thank you," Ellie said.

Surprisingly, the woman did not follow them; something Ellie had become accustomed to. They walked over to the aisle, and searched for the gift wrap.

Lex abruptly stopped, and pointed to a bag of noisemakers. "We should get some party stuff for Alan."

"Umm, maybe we should hold off on those." Ellie said, with a laugh.

"Okay."

Finding the gift wrap, a roll of attractive blue wrap, printed with small yellow boxes caught Ellie's attention. She held out the paper to the two children. "How about this one?"

"I like it," Lex said.

"Me, too," Tim said.

"Good, we'll get it.," Ellie said. On impulse, she decided to get two rolls of wrapping paper for the large box. "Now for a bow."

They continued down the aisle, until they came to a selection of bows. They looked over the display, a few moments later Lex held a canary yellow bow against the paper. "I think this would match the paper."

"Hey, I think you're right. It will look great. Now, all we need is some tape."

They walked along the aisles, until they found several Scotch tape dispensers. Selecting one, they carried their items to the checkout counter. While Ellie paid for their items, the woman waved out the window.

"Your brother?" Ellie said.

"Yes," the woman said, with a smile

"He's been a big help to us."

"I am glad he could help you, _Señora._"

After they paid, they returned to their waiting cab.

"I think we're done now," Ellie said.

"Are you staying at the hotel?"

"Yes, we are."

"I'll return you there."

"Thanks."

"Ellie, how are we going to get the hat into our room without Alan seeing it?" Lex asked.

"Well, I'm not sure yet. If Alan's not back yet, we'll take it in and hide it in our closet. If he is back, well, we'll have to think of something else."

Arriving at the hotel, Ellie paid their driver, and gave him a generous tip for his help and advice. Walking by the front desk, she found McTeer, the hotel's general manager, behind the counter.

"Good afternoon, Dr. Sattler," McTeer said.

"Hi. Alan left a little while ago. Do you know if he's returned?"

"No, ma'am, I haven't seen him, but I've only been here a few minutes."

"I see. Can you do me a favor? We bought him a birthday gift and I don't want him to see it. Can you hide it here until we find out if he's back?"you?"

"Sure, I'd be glad to. If he's there, you can leave it here, until you can come and get it."

"Oh, good, thanks." Ellie handed him the sacks, which he placed under the counter. "We'd also like to get him a cake. Any suggestions?"

"Sure, I can have the restaurant bake one for you. When do you need it?"

"The day after tomorrow, about nine in the morning." With today's change in time, she could no longer count on a set time for Alan's meetings. "I'll let you know if the time changes."

"What size do you need?" he asked, writing the date and time on a pad.

"I think a regular nine inch cake will be fine."

"Okay... What flavor would you like?

"That's an easy one. Chocolate — it's his favorite."

"Yum…" Tim said.

McTeer smiled at Tim. "His first name is Alan, right?"

"Yes, one L."

"Got it. Now for the important question. How many candles should the cake have?"

"Well, he'll be thirty-seven. I know, put three candles on it – one for each decade."

McTeer laughed. "Good idea. We'll take care of everything."

"Thanks."

Ellie found the suite empty, so she decided to send the kids to fetch the packages. "Guys, the coast is clear. Go get everything, and I'll hold the door for you."

Lex and Tim trotted to the front desk and peered out the front window to ensure they did not meet Alan if he happened to return.

"Alan's not back," Tim said to McTeer. "We can take the hat now."

"Here you go." McTeer handed them their packages.

"Thanks," Lex said. They carried the packages into Ellie's bedroom, and she placed the box and wrapping paper on the top shelf, sliding the closet door closed. "We'll wrap it after Alan goes to bed," Ellie said.

"Can we go play video games until Alan gets back?" Tim asked.

"Sure, go ahead. Don't be gone too long, he should be back soon."

"I'll go, too," Lex said.

Ellie gave Lex her room key, then settled on the couch and began to read, hoping Alan would soon return. She jumped slightly at the sudden ring of the telephone. "Hello?"

"Hi, there," Joe said.

"Hi, Joe."

"I heard they took Alan again."

"Yup," she said, shortly. "They did — again."

"I'm sorry, Ellie. Pauley's not happy, either. There's no reason for them to keep doing it."

"I agree. Now if we could get the Costa Rican's to agree, too."

"I wish we could. I do have some good news. Lex and Tim can go home when Lynda can get here."

"Oh, good." It was best for the children to return home. "Have you told her?"

"That's my next phone call. I know things are lousy right now, but don't give up."

"I'm trying not to, Joe, but I don't like how this is affecting Alan." Her worry about Alan, never far way, arose from deep inside her.

"He told me he wasn't sleeping well."

"He isn't." Ellie sighed. There seemed to be no way out of their predicament; except there journals of course. She was convinced it was the only way they would regain their freedom. She wondered what the tipping point would be for Alan; how far would he be pushed before he acted.

"Well, I'd better get back to work," Joe said.

"Bye, Joe."

"Dr. Grant, I'd like to ask you a few questions about your relationship with John Hammond," Sanchez said.

* * *

Inwardly groaning, Alan clenched the armrest of his chair, his patience at an end. "Mr. Sánchez, more than once, I've told your government everything I know about InGen. Once again from the top, this is the story." 

Taking a breath, he spoke rapidly. "In the mid-80s, I agreed to write a paper about the habits of _Hadrosaurs_ for a company I'd never heard of called InGen. Eventually, they paid me $12,000 for the information," he ground out, jaws clenched. "I had no more contact with them, but not by coincidence it turns out, around the same time, John Hammond began to fund my field research. Until he arrived at my dig site in Montana last week, I had never met Hammond face-to-face, nor was I aware of his connection to InGen. As far as I knew, he simply was a rich old guy who liked dinosaurs, and wanted to pay me for my field research. Hammond invited Dr. Sattler and I to _Isla_ _Nublar_ to inspect a biological preserve, as he called it. If I gave the park my approval, Hammond would continue to fund my field research for another three years. I agreed, we went to the island, and nearly got ourselves killed."

Alan halted and took a deep breath. "Don't you people understand – Dr. Sattler and I had no idea what we were getting into," he exclaimed, banging his fist on the armrest. Barging to his feet, he stalked to the window, and rubbed the back of his neck, stiff with tension.

Sánchez joined Alan at the window. "Dr. Grant, I understand how difficult this is for you. You should not be here." Sánchez said. Although this was his first conversation with the paleontologist, upon reading the facts, he had quickly decided the man was a pawn in the matter.

Alan looked at him sharply. "Then why the hell can't we leave?"

"Dr. Grant, if it was my decision, you would have returned home days ago, but I have no authority to release you. It is clear to me InGen deceived you, as they deceived my country."

"But? There must be a but here somewhere," Alan said, sarcastically.

"You are right. The disaster has sent shock waves through the highest levels of my government. With John Hammond dead, you are one of the few people who might have the answers to the disaster."

Alan inwardly sighed, then realized Sánchez did not mention anything about dinosaurs on the mainland. About to speak on the subject, he abruptly changed his mind. Olvera knew he was aware of the Compy; he realized it might be best to remain quiet about any other knowledge he held.

"Your government is diligently working to get you back," Sánchez said. "High-level discussions are taking place now. But the going is slow."

"Bureaucracy," Grant muttered with disgust.

"Indeed, it is the bane of us all." Sánchez said. "I know you must think you are in the middle of a nightmare, but you must be patient.

Alan stared at Sánchez intently. "No, Mr. Sánchez, Jurassic Park was the nightmare."

* * *

Moodily, Alan stared out the car window. Incredibly, although Sánchez had been sympathetic, he had told him they wanted to see him again tomorrow. His mind drifted to the journals; he knew in his heart once Ben received the package, he could end the whole charade with one phone call, if the Costa Ricans reacted the right way. But it would be too much of the gamble, he reasoned. He wearily rubbed his eyes, unsure of how to proceed.

* * *

Ellie heard the doorknob turn, and Alan walked in. 

"Hi," she said, rising. She did not like his expression.

"Hi," he said, without enthusiasm. He sat on the couch with a thump and sighed, running his hand through his damp hair. On top of everything else, he had gotten soaked walking to the car from the ministry building. "Well, I had fun," he said finally.

"What did they want?"

Alan shrugged. "Asked me the same questions."

"What? How ridiculous."

Alan shrugged. "I can't figure out what they want." He shrugged again. "Who knows."

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry." She rubbed his back in an attempt to soothe him. "How about a beer?"

"I'd love one." He started to rise, but Ellie, stopped him.

"I'll get it, stay here." She quickly returned with a beer for each of them. "I need to get another six pack, these are the last two."

"The Mini-Mart sells beer, so we'll have to get some. Oh, guess what, they said they want to see me again tomorrow."

"You're kidding? Alan, you can't let them do this to you. You have to force them to let you go!"

"I considered it on the way home, but I can't do it, you know why," he said quietly.

Ellie retreated into silence, outraged at his treatment.

Alan took her hand. "Ellie—"

"I worry about you, too, you know."

"I know you do." Although he wished she had not been on the island, he had to admit he was glad she was here. He glanced around the suite. "Say, where are the kids?"

"Playing video games. They should be back soon. What do you want for dinner?"

"You know, all this money's burning a hole in my pants. Let's eat out tonight."

"Oh, I see. Dr. Grant, the big spender."

Alan laughed. "What's a good place to eat here?"

"Are you in the mood for Chinese? The guidebook said there's a good one here."

"Chinese in Costa Rica?"

"Apparently."

"Okay, let's try it out."

Ellie laughed; glad to see his spirits lifted. "Hey, Joe called. Lex and Tim can leave any time."

Alan nodded. "I'm going to miss them, but they need to get back to their regular routine. You know, Joe mentioned something the other day. Are you familiar with post-traumatic stress syndrome?"

"A little bit. Soldiers get it from combat, right?"

"They do, but Joe reminded me we were in a war of sorts on the island. With all this happening to us, maybe we're going through the same thing."

"Hmm… It might be. We need to do some research when we get back home."

"Yeah."

They looked towards the door, their conversation interrupted by the return of the children.

"Hi, Alan," Tim said.

"Hey, guys," Alan said. "How do you two feel about Chinese?"

"I love Chinese!" Lex said.

"I like egg rolls and sweet and sour," Tim said.

"Great," Ellie said. Behind them, the phone rang. "I'll get it," Ellie said, frowning. "Hello?" she cautiously said.

"Good afternoon, this is the front desk. Federal Express has delivered two packages for you."

"Oh, thank you, we'll get them right away."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Our care packages are here," Ellie said.

"I'll go," Alan said, figuring the boxes would be large. "Tim, can you get the door?"

"Sure," Tim said.

Alan strolled to the front desk and found two large boxes on the counter. "I think those might be for me."

"Good afternoon, Dr. Grant. Yes, sir, those are for you," Manuel said.

"Thanks." Stacking the boxes on top of each other, he toted them back to the suite, where Tim waited.

Alan placed the boxes on the table; everyone crowded around to discover the contents. "Let's see what we have here." He did not recognize the writing on one address label, and guessed it was from Lynda. "I think this one belongs to you two." He retrieved his pocketknife and split the tape on the well-sealed box. "Here you go."

Eagerly, the children dived into the box. "Oh, cool, Mom sent my favorite shirt," Tim said, holding aloft a San Francisco Forty-Niner t-shirt.

"We'll call your Mom later and tell her you got the clothes," Ellie said.

"Okay. Can I wear my Forty-Niner shirt to the restaurant tonight?"

Ellie remembered reading the restaurant had a casual dress code. "Sure, Timmy," she said.

Alan cut the tape on his and Ellie's box, and found three pairs of jeans, three shirts, and a pair of shoes for each of them, in addition to Ellie's glasses.

"These will work fine. I'm going to put my stuff away," Ellie said, looking over the contents of the box. "Lex, let's put my clothes in with yours and we'll sort them in the bedroom."

"Okay," Lex said.

"Good idea," Alan said. "Tim and I can do the same."

Lex removed her clothes from the box, Alan added his clothes, then carried the box into his bedroom. Once there, he and Tim began to put away their clothes.

"Honey," Ellie said, entering the bedroom. "Since we have some extra clothes now, I'll do laundry tomorrow." She could now clean the clothes they purchased on arrival; she knew the hotel's facilities included a coin laundry.

"The hotel has a laundry service, why don't we send everything out?"

"Sure, whatever you want to do." Ellie smiled, turned, and left the room.

Alan pulled a mesh bag from the closet and he and Tim began to fill it with the clothes to be cleaned.

Once filled with her and Lex's laundry, Ellie propped the laundry bag against the door on her way out of the bedroom, to be put outside in the morning.

Walking by the television, on a whim, Ellie switched on the appliance. With the stations only broadcasting in Spanish, there had been little reason to turn it on. Every day they read the _Tico Times_, chiefly looking for any mention of Jurassic Park. The continuing news blackout impressed Ellie.

"You know it's weird, I don't miss TV at all," Lex said.

"I guess you're having too much fun to watch TV," Ellie said with a smile.

Lex smiled. "Yeah, I guess I am."

"Ellie, I'm going to take a shower and get some dry clothes on," Alan said, peering into the living room.

"Good idea, I think I'll do the same," Ellie said. She decided to wear a pair of tan slacks and a sleeveless jade colored blouse purchased on their arrival.

* * *

After dressing, Ellie entered the living room, and spotted Alan in the kitchen; dressed in a pair of khakis and the light blue Oxford shirt she had bought; his sleeves already rolled to his elbows. 

"What do you think?" Alan asked.

Ellie winked at Lex. "Lex, Alan cleans up pretty good, don't you think?"

Lex blushed, and laughed. "I'm going to get ready."

After Lex left the room, Alan pulled her into his arms. "You clean up pretty good, yourself, you know that?"

"Why, thank you, sir." Holding him close, she breathed in the smell of soap. He did not wear aftershave; the clean smell of him as good an aphrodisiac as any aftershave.

"Ellie," he said drawing back from her. "I know you want me to tell John, but I..." he trailed off, shaking his head."I don't know what to do."

"Shh... You don't have to explain. I understand. I don't like it, but I do understand."

Tim emerged from the bedroom dressed in his San Francisco t-shirt and cargo shorts.

"Happy now?" Ellie said.

"Yeah." Tim said with a grin. "I like the clothes you got me, but this is my favorite shirt."

"I understand kiddo." Ellie snapped her fingers. "Hey, before we go, I need to get the address of the restaurant." She looked in the guidebook and turned to the restaurant section. "Here it is. The name is _Tin Jo_ and the address is _Calle_ 11, Between _Avenidas_ 6 and 8." She wrote the address on the notepad, folded the piece of paper in half, and placed it in her pocket. She settled alongside Alan on the couch to wait for Lex.

* * *

After a taxi ride across town, they arrived at the restaurant. Exiting their cab, they strolled into the restaurant and approached the host. 

"Good evening, _Señor. _Party of four?" the woman asked.

"Right," Alan said.

"Please follow me."

The woman led them to a table, setting four menus on the table in front of each of them. "Will this table be acceptable?"

"This will be fine, thank you," Alan said, looking around the restaurant. Still early, the restaurant was nearly empty. Alan had discovered the Costa Rican's (removed comma) ate dinner late.

"Your waiter will be here in a moment," the woman said.

"Thanks," Ellie said.

While they looked over the menus, their waiter approached. "Hi, there, can I get you something to drink?" Alan noted the young man appeared to be an American

"I'd like an Imperial," Alan said.

"I'll have the same," Ellie said.

The young man turned to Lex and Tim. "How about you guys?"

"I'd like a Coke, please," Tim said.

"Me, too," Lex said.

"Great, I'll get that right out to you."

"They have sweet and sour pork," Tim said.

"Want an egg roll?" Ellie said.

"Yeah, I'd like one."

"I know what I want," Lex said. "Tofu and mixed vegetables, and a spring roll, since it won't have any meat in it."

"Alan, the guide said the Moo Shu is good here. Want to share an order?" Ellie asked.

"Sure. I think I'll have an egg roll to go with it."

"I think egg drop soup sounds good," Ellie said.

Their waiter soon returned with their drinks. "Here you go. If you're ready I'll take your order."

They each gave the man their order and afterwards, the man nodded. "I'll be back in a minute with your appetizers."

"Okay," Alan said.

Ellie took a drink of her beer. "I wish we could get this brand back in the states."

"Me, too," Alan said. "I've taken a definite liking to it. Lex, I've been wondering how you became interested in vegetarianism," Alan said.

Lex shrugged. "It was a couple of things. I watched something on the news about how they slaughtered animals. It was horrible. Then, a friend of mine became a vegetarian, and I did a lot of research and joined this cool BBS—"

"BBS?" Alan asked.

Lex nodded. "It's a computer discussion board. I dial in with a modem and talk to people on their computers. I got a 14.400 modem for my birthday. It's the fastest one there is," she said with pride.

"Really…" Alan said. He didn't have a clue what the girl referred to.

"You don't like computers?"

Alan shrugged. "I'm afraid I don't know a thing about them."

"I think they're dumb," Tim said.

"No dumber than video games," Lex said.

"Whatever."

Ellie laughed, then turned serious. "What are your parent's objections? You're knowledgeable about what to eat." Though unfamiliar with the diet, Ellie considered the choices Lex made to be well rounded and nutritious.

Lex frowned. "Well, my Dad didn't like me doing it at all, and my Mom thinks I'm not getting the right nutrition if I don't eat meat."

Alan glanced at Ellie, noting the use of the past tense in reference to her father.

"I used to think she'd be happier if I ate junk food all the time," she said with a touch of exasperation. "She said we're going to talk about it when I get home."

"Good," Ellie said.

Their waiter approached, and set their appetizers in front of them. "Here we go, folks."

"Are you from the US?" Tim asked.

The man nodded. "I sure am, from Idaho."

"How did you end up here in San Jose?" Alan asked.

"Well, I came here over spring break with some friends and I liked it so much I didn't leave."

"I see… what college were you attending?" Ellie asked.

"Idaho State."

"So why aren't you back in the state getting ready for the fall term?" Alan asked.

"I had some problems with the program, and there doesn't seem to be any point in going back."

"I see... As a college professor it's my duty to say this — go back and finish your degree," Alan said.

The young man laughed heartily. "Where do you teach?"

"University of Denver — Paleontology."

"You must be…" he trailed off, his eyes widening. "Hey, you're Alan Grant."

"See, Alan, you're even famous in Costa Rica," Ellie said, patting his arm.

Alan snorted and rolled his eyes, which brought laughter all around.

"I knew I'd seen you before," the man said. "I'm doing my undergrad in paleontology—well, I was a Paleo major."

"So what's your name?" Alan asked.

"My name's Billy Brennan."


	14. Chapter 13

"Billy, it's good to meet you. This is Dr. Sattler, paleobotanist extraordinaire," Alan said.

With a quiet laugh, Ellie patted Alan on the arm. "Hi, Billy."

"Dr. Grant—Dr. Sattler, it's an honor," Brennan said.

"And this is Lex and Tim," she said.

"Hey, guys," Brennan said.

Brennan glanced momentarily towards one of the other tables. "It looks like I've got another party. I'll be back later."

"I recognize that look," Ellie said.

Alan smiled slyly. "What look?"

"The 'time to rescue a wayward paleontology student' look."

Alan laughed, at the choice of her words. "I'd like to know why he's not in school," he said.

"Actually, I'd like to find out the reason, too."

"Alan, when you're digging for dinosaurs, do you camp out?" Tim asked.

"Yep, in a tipi."

"Is it a tipi like the Indians used?" Tim asked.

"It's the very same design. We got them several years ago."

"I wish I could camp out in a tipi," Tim said wistfully.

Ellie wondered if Tim's mother would let him come to Montana next summer. She quickly glanced at Alan; his expression altered momentarily and they locked eyes; she knew his thoughts mirrored hers.

"How come you use tipis instead of tents?" Lex asked.

"Well, Lex, we've been in and out of Western Montana for a number of years at Egg Mountain. When we first started prospecting there, we tried several kinds of tents, but the high winds always blew over the tents, once with me in one! Egg Mountain and the surrounding areas once belonged to the Blackfoot nation, so we went and talked to the tribal elders at the Blackfoot reservation, and they agreed to make us the tipis. We have six now. They're actually larger inside and more comfortable than tents."

"Wow… How cool," Lex said.

Brennan soon returned to take their appetizer dishes. "Dr. Grant, are you on an expedition?" he said

"I wish..." he said, scowling. "We came to Costa Rica on a consulting job and there have been some complications. It looks like we'll be here for a while longer."

"Billy, what university were you attending?" Ellie asked.

"Uh… Idaho State."

"So… Why aren't you home getting ready for the fall term?" she asked.

"I wasn't happy with my paleontology courses. They disappointed me so much I decided not to go back to school."

Alan exchanged knowing looks with Ellie, and nodded. "I see." In his opinion, Mabrey was one of the worst of the "Teacup Dinosaur Hunters;" paleontologists afraid to get their hands dirty, and who's only interest was the potential profits of fossil hunting for museums. Worse than useless, they devoured desperately needed funding which should be used for legitimate research.

He would like to know more about the young man's predicament, but realized it was the wrong time and place. "What time do you come in to work tomorrow?"

"Actually, I'm off."

"Perfect. I have a meeting to go to in the morning, and Ellie's taking Tim and Lex to a museum, why don't you come by tomorrow afternoon and we'll talk."

Billy slowly nodded, then smiled broadly. "I'd like to, Dr. Grant."

"Good. We're staying at the _Apartotel El Sesteo_."

"I've got the address," Ellie said. She dug into her backpack and retrieved the paper with their address, and a small spiral notebook, and rapidly wrote the address down.

"I'll find it," he said, placing the paper in his pocket. "Hey, I'll be back with the main courses."

"We'll be here," Alan said.

Ellie smiled at Alan fondly. Billy Brennan would not be the first student Alan got through a difficult situation. "You'll have him back in school in no time."

"I'm going to try."

Brennan soon came back carrying a large tray with their main courses. He quickly placed the dishes in front of the group.

"Why don't you plan to come over about four?" Alan said.

"Sure, I can be there."

"Then you can stay for dinner," Ellie said.

"Wow, Dr. Sattler, I don't know what to say…" he trailed off shyly.

"All you have to do is say yes," Ellie said.

"Well, okay, sure, I'd love to."

"You'd better be careful, or you might get trapped into a game of Monopoly. These two put Donald Trump to shame."

Brennan laughed. "I'll remember that. Well, I've got another party. I'll be back to check on you later. Enjoy the meal."

"Thanks," Ellie said, watching him hurry away. "You know, I bet your friend Jack Mabrey is the cause of Billy's problems."

"Wouldn't surprise me a bit." Alan said.

In her first semester of her PhD studies, Ellie attended the annual meeting of the Vertebrate Paleontological Society, along with the rest of the paleontology department's staff and students. She had already heard of Mabrey and the methods he used to acquire fossils, and his lack of teaching expertise. On the last night of the meeting, Alan delivered a scathing keynote address on the future of Paleontology and the dangers of fossil collecting for profit. Although Alan mentioned no names during the speech, Mabrey correctly guessed he was a target; afterwards the two men had engaged in a very public quarrel. Ellie remembered Alan's surprise that he had been allowed to speak on a subject so controversial.

"Is Mr. Brennan going to be a paleontologist?" Tim asked.

"He is, if I have anything to do with it," Alan said.

Ellie took off the top of a pan and laughed. "Hey Alan, take a look at this – Moo Shu fajitas."

Alan raised his eyebrows in surprise; instead of the expected pancakes, he found several tortillas. "Interesting."

While they ate, the restaurant began to fill, and Brennan did not have time for an extended conversion when he returned to refill their drinks.

"Your food must be good," Ellie said, watching Lex eagerly consume her food.

"Oh, yeah, it's great," Lex said.

"Mine's good too," Tim said.

"Well, these are terrific," Alan said. "Want to split the last tortilla?"

"I couldn't eat another bite. You go ahead."

"Okay." Alan spooned the last of the pork mixture into the tortilla, and took a bite.

After finishing their meal, Brennan returned to take their plates. "How'd you like it?"

"I loved it," Lex said.

"That's what I want to hear. Is everybody ready for dessert?"

He chuckled at the groans heard all around the table. "What, nobody wants any of our famous Sticky Rice?"

"I'd love some, but I'd explode," Ellie said.

Brennan laughed and nodded, gathering their dishes. "I hear that a lot. I'll be back in a minute with your bill."

"I don't think I could go swimming after this, I might sink and drown," Tim said.

Leaning back in his chair, Alan contentedly patted his stomach. "I'm glad, Tim. I'd probably go sound asleep."

Brennan soon returned with the bill. "It was really great to meet you, Dr. Grant, Dr. Sattler."

"It was good to meet you too, Billy. You are coming tomorrow, right?" Alan asked.

"I promise I'll be there."

"We're in suite five."

"Okay, good. Goodnight everybody. See you tomorrow." Brennan left to attend to his other parties, and they slowly walked to the checkout stand.

"Alan, while you pay, I'll go call us a taxi," Ellie said.

"Okay," Alan said.

"How did you like your dinner,_ Señor_?" the woman behind the counter asked, taking his money.

"It was excellent, and our waiter was very attentive," Alan said, throwing in a plug for Brennan.

"Excellent. Have a good evening."

"Thanks." Alan turned away from the stand, and looked around. "Guys, let's see how Ellie's doing," Alan said to Lex and Tim. They walked to the pay phones. Alan found her hanging up the phone.

"What's the verdict?" Alan asked.

"The cab will be here in about fifteen minutes."

"Okay, let's wait outside."

They left the restaurant, and waited for the taxi, Alan's arm around Ellie. "I wish they'd open a restaurant in Denver," Alan said, leaning casually against the wall of the restaurant.

"I agree," Ellie replied.

They waited quietly for a few minutes, until a taxi stopped at the curb and honked. "Here we go," Alan said. "I'll take the back seat this time."

"Thank you," Ellie said gratefully.

Alan climbed into the back seat next to Lex and Tim, and attempted to arrange his legs in a comfortable position. The trip did not take long, fortunately, and soon they pulled into the hotel's parking lot.

"I'll get the fare," Ellie said. While she paid for the ride, the others exited the cab. "Do you miss Joe's van?" Ellie asked in amusement, watching Alan stretch his legs.

"I sure do."

Passing the front desk, they waved at Manuel. "I'm going to get these contacts out," Ellie said, switching on the overhead light as they entered the suite.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere," Lex said, taking a seat in one of the chairs.

"Me either, Lex," Tim said, collapsing into the other chair.

"I think I'll join you," Alan said. He untied his shoes, kicked them off, then stretched out on the couch. He laughed suddenly.

"What's so funny?" Tim asked.

"We look like a pride of lions after a meal, lying about all relaxed and lazy."

"Have you ever been to Africa?" Lex asked.

"Once, many years ago. I learned details about animal behavior which could never be taught in a classroom."

"How come you study animal behavior?" Tim asked.

"Well, by studying the behavior of present day species, I can make more accurate hypotheses about the behavior of dinosaurs."

"I guess you don't need to study their behavior anymore, do you?" Tim asked, his expression pensive.

Alan exhaled, nodding thoughtfully. "No, I guess I don't, Tim." He knew too much about dinosaur behavior now.

"If you could go to one place you haven't been before, where would you go?" Lex asked.

Alan propped his head back against the head rest and considered the question for a moment. "Antarctica, I think."

"They didn't have any dinosaurs there, did they?" she asked.

"Actually, the fossils of several species have been discovered on the continent. In prehistoric times, the climate was similar to South America."

"Really? I didn't know that," Lex said.

From her bedroom, Ellie listened while Alan talked to the children. Most paleontologists gave classroom lectures, but in all the time she had known him, he steadfastly refused to conduct any student lectures. He obviously enjoyed teaching Lex and Tim, why did he deny himself the pleasure of bringing new knowledge to children? After pondering this question for a few seconds, she entered into the living room.

"Ellie, Alan wants to go to Antarctica to dig for fossils," Tim said.

Alan moved his legs aside and Ellie took a seat next to him. "No kidding? Well, honey, you can go without me," she said, teasingly. "I don't even like the winters in Colorado."

Alan laughed and checked his watch.

"Well, your mom is probably waiting for us to call." Checking their list, he dialed Lynda's number.

The call connected on the second ring. "Hi, Lynda, this is Alan."

"Oh, hi, Alan. How was dinner?"

"Not bad at all."

"I got a message from Joe Reiling. The children can come home anytime. I just have some documents to sign tomorrow and then I'll fly down. Have they given you any idea when you can leave?"

"None."

Lynda sighed. "That's too bad, Alan."

From across the room, Tim motioned to Alan. "Can I talk to mom?" he asked.

Alan nodded. "Lynda, Tim wants to talk to you."

"Okay."

"Hopefully, we'll be hearing from you tomorrow."

"I hope so, too. Good night, Alan."

"Good night, Lynda."

He handed Tim the receiver. "Here you go, Tim."

"Thanks. Hi, Mom."

"Hi sweetie. Are you having fun?"

"Yeah…"

Ellie laughed when Tim began to rapidly list all their activities.

"…and we've been playing Monopoly, too." Tim said.

"Tell her you've been beating the grownups," Ellie said.

"Oh, yeah, we've been beating the grownups," Tim said.

"You have? Where did you eat dinner?"

"We ate at a Chinese place. It was good!"

"In Costa Rica?" Lynda said doubtfully.

"Yep, right here in town. Alan and Ellie couldn't believe it either. The guy who waited on us is a paleontology student, and he's coming over tomorrow to talk to them. Are you coming to get us?"

"In a couple of days I think."

"Oh, okay… Do you want to talk to Lex?"

"Sure, sweetie. I'll talk to you later."

"Night, mom."

"Lex, Mom wants to talk to you."

"Okay." Lex said. "Hi, Mom," she said.

While she spoke to her mother, Ellie noted Lex's friendly and relaxed manner, so different from the hostility she had exhibited towards her mother earlier. She hoped they continued to make progress once she returned home.

"…Okay, mom, goodnight."

Lex handed Alan the phone, and placing the receiver into its cradle, he yawned. "Well, I'm full and sleepy. I'm going to call it a night." He leaned over and gave Ellie a kiss. "You guys can hold down the fort."

"I'm not far behind," Ellie said.

"I might read for a little bit," Tim said.

"Not me, I'm ready for bed," Lex said. "I'll get my pajamas on."

"Me, too." Tim asked.

The kids climbed to their feet and went into their respective bedrooms, and Ellie took the opportunity to cuddle close to Alan.

"Things seem calmer between Lex and Lynda," he said. "Did you talk to her?"

Ellie nodded. "Before we fell asleep this afternoon."

"Looks like it did a lot of good."

"I think it did. They still have some work to do, but it's a start."

"Joe told Lynda the kids can go home. She said the papers should be signed tomorrow," Alan said. "I guess she'll be here in a couple of days."

"Sounds like it. I hope you can sleep tonight."

"Me too. It's annoying as hell."

"It worries me, Alan."

"Hey, I'll be okay."

Ellie sighed. She knew he downplayed his problems, but she decided to drop it for now. She put her arms around Alan and kissed him hard. "Goodnight, Dr. Grant."

"Goodnight, Dr. Sattler."

Entering the bathroom, she changed into the big t-shirt she wore at night, and found Lex already in bed.

"Good night, kiddo," Ellie said, turning out the lamp.

"Goodnight… Ellie, when do you think you'll get to leave here?" Lex asked.

"Hopefully, we'll be able to leave soon. It depends on the Costa Ricans."

"Oh… You, know we've really enjoyed staying with you and Alan. It's fun."

Ellie smiled. "We've had fun with you guys. Do you know the two of have made history?"

"We have?"

"Oh, yeah. Alan doesn't like children, but he's crazy about you and Timmy."

"He doesn't like kids? Why?"

"I don't know, Lex." He had never given her a real reason, beyond some excuses.

"You like kids, don't you?"

Ellie smiled into the darkness. "I love children, especially bright kids like you and Tim."

"Do you want to have a baby?"

"I do." Illogical as it seemed to want a child so soon after earning her doctorate; she could not change her biological clock. She wanted desperately to have a child with Alan.

"So what's going to happen to you and Alan if he doesn't want children?"

Lex's question slammed into her like a physical blow. "I don't know…" she whispered.


	15. Chapter 14

Ellie cleared her throat and smiled uncomfortably at the man standing across from her. Alan never took this long to get ready. As the minutes went by, Ellie grew more and more irritated with the paleontologist.

Alan took one more look in the bathroom mirror. He knew he had stalled long enough. Emerged from the bedroom; he glanced at Ellie, and he knew he was in trouble. Guiltily, he realized he should not have taken advantage of her.

"Good morning," he said to the man in mock cheerfulness.

"_Buenos Días_, Dr. Grant," the man said. "My name is Enrique Prado Hernandez. I have been asked to escort you to the ministry building."

Alan nodded, then glanced again at Ellie. "I'll be back later."

"Uh huh," she said flatly.

_Damn, I blew it this time._ "I'm sorry, honey. I'll make it up to you, I promise," he softly said.

Despite her irritation, she understood his desire to maintain some small bit of control in his life. "You'd better," she said.

"See you guys later," he said to Lex and Tim. "Have fun at the museum."

"We will," Tim said.

"Bye, Alan," Lex said.

Ellie watched the two men leave, and considered their next move. A moment later, she turned towards the children. "You know, we should get the hat wrapped before we go to the museum. There's no telling when Alan will return. We'll have more room at the table," Ellie said, pointing at the table.

"Come on, Timmy, let's get the hat," Lex said.

"Oh, rats," Ellie said, with a snap of her fingers. "We need some scissors. I'm going to see if the front desk might have a pair we could borrow."

"Okay," Tim said.

"I'll be right back." Making her way to the front desk, she smiled at the young woman behind the counter.

"Yes, _Señora_, may I help you?" the woman asked.

"Hi… By any chance, do you have a pair of scissors I can borrow? I need to wrap a birthday present," Ellie said.

"We should have a pair here somewhere." The woman began to open drawers. After a few seconds, she pulled a small pair out of the drawers and handed them to Ellie. "Will these do?"

"These will work fine. I'll bring them back after we're finished."

"Take your time,_ Señora_."

"Thanks," Ellie said. "We're good to go," she said, re-entering the suite, where she found Lex and Tim waiting at the table, the hatbox, wrapping paper, and bow already on the table.

"Excellent!" Tim said.

Ellie removed the plastic wrap from one of the rolls of wrapping paper and unrolled a section. Her earlier guess proved correct; the paper's length would circle the box, but it lacked the width to cover the entire surface on the sides of the box.

"It's not wide enough," Tim said.

"That's why Ellie got the second roll," Lex said.

Tim rolled his eyes. "I know, Lex."

Improvising, Ellie and the children used both rolls of paper to cover the hat box. "Now for the bow," she said, placing the bow on the box, first in the middle, then in a corner. "Which way looks the best?"

"I like it in the middle," Lex said.

"Me, too," Tim said.

"I think I do, too," Ellie said.

She took the backing off the bow and attached it to the box, then held it aloft. "Looks impressive, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, Alan's really going to like it," Lex said.

"Well, then let's stash Alan's hat in the closet and we'll take off for the museum."

They gathered the hat and leftover supplies and returned them to the closet. Ellie looped her backpack over her shoulder, and picked up the scissors to return to the front desk. "Ready?" she asked.

"Yep!" Lex exclaimed.

"Follow me then," Ellie said, smiling.

* * *

"Dr. Grant, thank you for coming. My name is Jorge Moreno," the man said, shaking hands with Alan. "I am an undersecretary for security for the government of Costa Rica. I would like to ask you a few questions." 

_Obviously, otherwise there would be no reason for me to be here._ The whole thing now seemed rehearsed, each time he was asked the same repetitive questions. Moreno was new, so perhaps there would be some new questions this time. "Let's get started," he said brusquely, settling into a chair across from the man's desk.

"Dr. Grant, how did you become involved with InGen?" Moreno asked.

Alan sighed; so much for new questions. "Gennaro called me one day and told me InGen was building a children's museum, complete with a dinosaur exhibit. A few seasons earlier we had discovered the first dinosaur eggs in the western hemisphere, but I hadn't published anything. Gennaro somehow found out about the discovery and wanted information about the nesting habits of _Hadrosaurs_."

"How did he find about your discoveries?"

"I don't know, you should ask him," he said. With those words, Alan observed a change in the man's expression, putting him on guard.

"Unfortunately, we cannot locate _Señor _Gennaro."

"I told them they'd better watch him," he muttered. "Anyway, I wrote InGen a paper on the dietary habits of juvenile _Hadrosaurs_, as well as a summary of everything we knew about their nesting habits. In return, they agreed to pay me $50,000. Gennaro began to call me with all kinds of speculative questions on dinosaur behavior. I was tired of the calls, and made them a deal. If they stopped calling me, I'd settle for $12,000. They sent me a check, and I forgot about the matter."

"When did you first come into contact with John Hammond?" Moreno asked.

"A year later."

"Did you suspect any connection between InGen and Hammond?"

"No, none at all. The checks came from the Hammond Foundation."

The letter from Hammond, an offer to help fund his field research, had arrived unsolicited. A phone call later, he and Hammond had an agreement; and the first check arrived by courier a week later, just in time for the upcoming field season.

"How frequently did you speak with Hammond?"

"I spoke with him a few times on the phone. I met him face to face for the first time last week."

Moreno nodded. "Dr. Grant, you told Minister Olvera you received an x-ray of a small dinosaur recovered from the mainland."

"Right… I talked with my crew chief, but he couldn't find the fax. It must have been thrown out with the trash."

"I see. I will inform Minister Olvera of this. Can you tell us who sent you this fax?"

"It came from a technician at the University of Columbia, by the name of Levin." Alan did not mention Guitierrez, although the Costa Ricans probably knew who he was.

"This dinosaur was a small one, no?"

Alan nodded. "Yes, about the size of a chicken."

"Is it possible larger species could have escaped from Isla Nublar?"

"It's possible, but I don't know how they could get to the mainland. It's much too far to swim. They would have to be transported somehow..." Alan suddenly remembered Wu's statement in the nursery. "Of course…" he said softly.

"Dr. Grant, did you remember something?"

"Yes, we were in the nursery, and we watched a Velociraptor hatch. The geneticist, Dr. Wu, told us he had hoped the egg would hatch before he left for the mainland. We also heard an announcement about a boat leaving in fifteen minutes. They would have used boats to transport personnel, supplies, and equipment back and forth from the mainland."

"Did you see this boat?"

Alan shook his head. "I didn't see it, but that's got to be how the Compie escaped. Because of the malfunction in the sensors they never missed it." Or any animal which might have escaped, he added silently.

"Thank you for telling us this, it will be a great deal of help to us. Now, I'd like to talk to you about what happened on the island."

Reluctantly, Alan began to give his account of the disaster on Isla Nublar.

* * *

Lex giggled and pointed at Tim. "Ellie look, there's a butterfly on Tim's head." 

"Tim, you look cute," Ellie said.

Tim scowled and rolled his eyes, then gingerly touched the top of his head. The butterfly flew off, and Lex giggled again.

The museum tour complete, they stood in a large enclosure filled with several native species of butterflies. "I would like to thank everyone for coming. Have a good afternoon," the tour guide said.

"That was fun," Lex said, as they walked towards the exit. "I wish Alan didn't have to go talk to those men again."

"I know," Ellie said. "I feel kind of guilty about having all this fun. But, there's nothing Alan can do about it, and I know he wants you to enjoy yourselves." She checked her watch. "Let's take a vote, do you guys want to grab a bite for lunch while we're out, or eat at the hotel when Alan gets back?"

"I can wait," Tim said.

"Me too." Lex said.

"Then let's see how good my cab calling skills are," Ellie said. She stepped to the curb and held her hand out at the first passing cab. It was occupied, as was the second. The third cab stopped beside her; the driver leaned over and looked out the passenger side window.

"Can you take us to the _Apartotel El Sesteo_?" Ellie asked in Spanish.

"_Sí, Señora,_" the man said.

Ellie opened the door to the back seat. "In you go guys."

* * *

"Thanks for the ride," Alan said, as the car stopped at the hotel's entrance. For once, the trip had not been a total waste, he mused. He now knew the probable means of escape from the island. 

"My pleasure, Dr. Grant. Have a good afternoon," Hernandez said.

Alan strolled into the hotel, glancing at his watch, and decided to wait for the others to return to eat lunch. He sensed another headache brewing, so he would take a couple of aspirin. He spotted Robert Muldoon who raised his hand in greeting. The last time Alan had seen Muldoon was at the airport. "Robert, what a pleasant surprise," he said.

"I agree," Muldoon said. He pointed in the direction of the bar. "I'm about to make my way to the bar, would you like a beer."

"I'd love one." The beer would probably make his headache worse, but he could not pass up the opportunity to speak to Muldoon.

After each ordered an Imperial, they took a seat at a table. "How are you?" Muldoon asked.

"Oh, I'm doing great," Alan said, sarcastically. "I endured another session with my Costa Rican friends this morning. Have they been dragging you in to talk to them?"

"They have… There's not much I can tell them," Muldoon said shrugging.

"I know even less than you do, but that doesn't seem to matter."

"Gennaro's the one they should be hounding."

"Well, that's going to be difficult. It seems the Costa Rican's are unable to locate _Señor _Gennaro."

Muldoon snorted with derision. "Why am I not surprised by this? I bet he had help from InGen."

"I'm thinking the same thing."

"Water under the bridge… How are Ellie and the kids?"

"We've had some rough spots, but considering what they went through, they're doing remarkably well. She took them to a butterfly museum this morning."

"What about you? You look a little ragged around the edges. Having nightmares?"

"Lex is having the nightmares. I'm not sure what's happening with me." Grant shrugged. "I keep waking in the middle of the night thinking something's in the room, but there's never anything there. I can't get back to sleep afterwards."

"Did something happen during the night?"

"No, we slept in a tree. I haven't a clue what's going on," Alan said and managed a laugh. "Did Hammond tell you about the Compie?"

Muldoon shook his head, and peered at Alan. "No, what Compie?"

"Before we left Montana, someone sent us a fax of a Compie's hindquarter. They found it here on the mainland."

Muldoon looked at Alan in alarm. "Oh, hell…"

"We had a visitor yesterday, a researcher based here, by the name of Guitierrez. He gave me some disturbing information." Alan repeated what Guitierrez had told him before. "Their diet was strange."

"What did they eat?"

"Soy, agama beans, chickens… Lysine rich foods."

Muldoon whistled softly and shook his head. "I didn't hear a thing about this, or the Compie. That's a migratory pattern."

"I agree."

"My God. They went into the mountains?"

"Yeah."

"They'll never find them in there."

Alan nodded. "How big were the supply boats?"

"They were large enough to hide juvenile dinosaurs, especially small ones. It must have snuck on board while one was docked."

"How good was the security on the boats?"

"Security? Ha! Since the technology was infallible, why should there be any reason for security," Muldoon said bitterly, rubbing his temples roughly. "God, I hope it's not the Raptors."

"I don't even want to think about the possibility."

Muldoon leaned forward, and spoke earnestly. "Alan, I tried my best to get them to destroy the whole bloody lot of them. They all laughed at me, told me I was being paranoid. Even after they killed one of my men, they still wouldn't listen."

"It seems they didn't want to listen to anyone. Say, there's something I'd like to ask you. Did you and Ellie have some trouble on the island?"

Muldoon grimaced and nodded. "It's entirely my fault. I didn't handle the situation well, at all. Actually, I got pissed off drunk and left Ellie in the lurch. I feel lousy about the whole thing."

"Look, why don't you try to talk to her? She's not one to carry grudges. Time has passed; I think she'll listen to you." He finished his beer and looked at his watch. "Well, my 'family' should be back from their museum trip soon," he said with a grin, and then his face grew serious. "Talk to Ellie."

"I will. I'll see you later."

"Goodbye, Robert."

Alan returned to a quiet, empty suite. The beer had intensified his headache. He took two aspirin for some relief, then turned on the television. Rapidly turning the channels, other than the Costa Rican versions of soap operas, the best he could find was a soccer game. Stretching out on the couch, he closed his eyes to rest

* * *

Opening the door; television on, Ellie could see Alan stretched out on the couch. At first she thought he was asleep, but his eyes opened, and he rose up on the couch. 

"Hi," Ellie said.

"Am I in the doghouse?" he asked, as she sat next to him.

Ellie laughed. "No, I'll let you off this one time."

"Ellie, I'm sorry. It was a juvenile thing to do."

"I know, but don't worry about it. Were the questions the same?"

"Pretty much. I did find out one thing. I'll tell you about it later. They also want to see me again tomorrow."

"Oh, no." Ellie could see the tightness around his eyes and she rubbed his arm worriedly. "Hey, do you feel okay?"

"I've got a headache. I took some aspirin a few minutes ago, which should take care of it. You know, I need some exercise. I think I'll take a swim after lunch."

"Good, then I'll join you after I put the roast on."

"I will certainly enjoy that," he said.

"Do you want anything special for lunch?"

"Whatever you want."

"How about grilled cheese and some soup."

"That's fine with me. Need some help?"

"Nope, you stay right here and rest." Ellie walked into the kitchen. "Guys, how does vegetable soup and grilled cheese sound?"

"Great," Tim said.

"Are we going to eat outside again?" Lex asked.

"Yeah, let's do," Tim said.

"Tim and I can set the table," Lex said.

"Thanks Lex."

While the children set the table on the patio; soup heating, Ellie began to prepare the bread for the grilled cheese.

After the table had been set, Tim came and sat next to Alan and looked at the television. "Do you like soccer?"

"Not really, it was either this or some Costa Rican soap opera. I'm a rugby man myself, but American football is good too."

"Rugby's a rough game."

"I have some scars to prove it."

"Alan, it takes a lot of school to become a paleontologist, doesn't it?"

Alan nodded. "Quite a bit, I'm afraid. I double majored in zoology and geology. Then I got my Masters and PhD in Paleontology."

"Oh, man. I'll never get out of school," Tim moaned.

Alan laughed. "Degrees are like any endeavour. If you really want it you'll complete your studies. But you know something? I never stopped learning. Every time we extract a skeleton I learn something new."

"What classes should I take?"

"You're in which grade?"

"I'll be in fifth grade."

"Well, you should take as much science and math as you can."

"Good, I like science and math."

"But you can't neglect your English classes either."

Tim's face scrunched up in distaste. "English? Why?"

"You'll have to publish your research, write grant proposals, and keep a daily field journal. Every paleontologist needs to have a good command of English."

"Oh."

"You haven't changed your mind have you?"

Time mulled over Alan's words for a minute, then smiled. "No, I still want to be a paleontologist."

"There you go. It also helps to be able to draw a little bit."

"Like in your book?"

"Exactly."

"Okay."

"Alan, Tim, lunch is ready," Ellie said. "What do you want to drink?"

"Milk for me, please," Tim said.

"Sounds good to me," Alan said.

Ellie chuckled; they had already polished off the first gallon of milk.

"Come on, Tim." He put his arm across the boy's shoulder, and they both went out onto the patio.

* * *

"Okay, guys, I'm ready for our swim, how about you?" Alan asked. 

"I am!" Tim said.

"Me too!" Lex said.

"Okay, I'll get changed," Alan said.

"I'll meet you out there after I finish putting the roast on," Ellie said.

"Okey, dokie." Alan said.

Ellie decided to cook chickpeas, which Lex said possessed a lot of protein.

"Lex, I'm going to make the chickpeas, okay?"

"That sounds great."

"We're having macaroni and cheese. And… I'm going to try some mashed plantain."

Tim smiled broadly. "Goody!"

Alan came out of the bedroom, dressed in his swimsuit. "Don't be too long, okay?"

"I'll be there as fast as I can," Ellie said.

They did not have a roasting pan, but a heavy cast iron skillet and its matching lid would work perfectly. Ellie heated some oil in the pan and turned on the oven. While the oil heated, she mixed flour, salt, and pepper together then dusted the roast with the mixture. The roast searing; she began to slice potatoes, carrots, and onions. As the meat browned, she added two cups of water, the vegetables, some thyme, and a few bay leaves. For extra flavor she added a little of the _Salsa Lizano_.

As she entered the bedroom to change into her swimsuit, she halted as the phone rang. "Hello?"

"Uh, hello — is Dr. Grant there?"

"He's not here right now. This is Ellie Sattler, can I help you?"

"Oh, hello, this is Lynda Murphy."

"Hi, it's good to talk to you. They're at the pool with Alan."

"I'm surprised you can get Tim out of the pool."

Ellie laughed. "He does like to swim."

"I wanted to call and tell you the papers are signed, I am now officially a free woman."

Ellie could not miss the anger in Lynda's voice. "I see," she said. Not knowing the details of the divorce, she was unsure of what else to say. Congratulations? That wouldn't be appropriate.

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate what you've done," Lynda said. "I'm sure you can't wait to get back to teaching."

"You are right about that. Lex and Tim have been a lot of fun. I'm afraid Lex has a crush on Alan though."

Lynda laughed. "The poor man. I guess the Costa Rican's are still talking to him."

"Everyday… They ask him the same questions over and over again."

"Oh dear. I'm truly sorry you got mixed up in this."

"Well, we're alive. At this point, it's what I'm focusing on."

"Dr. Sattler, are the kids really okay? I've sensed Alan hasn't been able to talk freely."

"Please call me Ellie."

"Okay, if you'll call me Lynda."

"He's wanted to talk to you about what happened, but the children have always been around." Ellie paused for a second, then began to speak. "Lynda, I won't sugar coat it. They've been through a terrifying ordeal, and witnessed some things no one should see, adult or child. They seem outwardly fine, but Lex has had a nightmare or two; and Tim's apprehensive when it thunders." Ellie suspected Lex had suffered from more than the one nightmare, but there had been no more terrified awakenings, and she had not mentioned anything. "We've been keeping them busy."

"I see. Thanks for letting me know. It will give me an idea of problems to watch for. I haven't been the best mother for a while, and things have been tense between Lex and I for a long time. I know I've been too hard on her, but that will change." Lynda paused before speaking. "Did they see my father die?"

"No, they didn't find out until after we got to San Jose."

"It's strange, but I'm relieved."

"I understand."

"Did you know they haven't even retrieved his or Ian Malcolm's body from the island?"

Ellie stiffened, shocked by Lynda's words. "No, I didn't know."

"Joe Reiling told me the Costa Ricans want to be sure all the animals are dead – or they're using that reason as an excuse."

"Oh, how terrible," Ellie said.

"Ellie, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, anything…"

"How much was my father going to pay you for the trip?"

"He was going to pay us each $20,000 a day."

"I see. Did he give Alan a check?"

"No, I'm sure he was going to give it to Alan when we left."

"Okay. I'll see you get the check. You've earned it, two or three times over."

Ellie looked skyward in gratitude. "Lynda, I can't tell you how much Alan will appreciate it. He's been worried about what's going to happen to his field research."

"As far as I'm concerned it doesn't even begin to pay you back."

"It does, believe me. We were talking about something the other day. If it's okay with you, we'd like for Tim to come out to Montana next summer for a bit. It might change his mind about being a paleontologist, once he sees how much work it is. We'd love to have Lex too, if she wants to come."

Lynda chuckled. "Sure, Tim can go, if you don't mind putting up with him."

"It won't be a chore at all."

"Well, I have a lot to do before I leave. Joe Reiling has arranged a room for me at the hotel."

"Lynda, the Embassy is a short distance from us. Joe can swing by and pick us up so the kids can meet you." Ellie remembered Alan's appointment.

"That would be great."

"Alan is supposed to go downtown again. Hopefully, he'll be back by the time you get here."

"I hope so. Once I find out the ETA I'm going to call Joe. He'll let you know what time to be ready."

"We'll be ready."

"Bye, Ellie."

"Bye."

She finished changing into her swimsuit. Slipping on an over shirt and grabbing the room key, she opened the door into the hall.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, and jumping backwards, heart beating rapidly in alarm; once again, she found herself in the defensive position.

Robert Muldoon preparing to knock, equally surprised, took a step backwards.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you," Muldoon said with a nervous laugh.

Ellie attempted to pull herself together. "Robert, Alan's not here."

"Well, actually, I wanted to talk to you. I'd like to apologize for my behavior on the island."

Ellie took a deep calming breath, debating whether to let him in. "Come on in," Ellie said at last, and took a seat in one of the side chairs.

Muldoon sat on the couch, leaned forward, and put his elbows on his thighs. "Ellie, I'm sorry about how I acted on the island. I'm ashamed of myself. I knew those animals better than anyone, and I should have been able to keep my head."

"Its okay, Robert. Everyone reacts differently to a situation like that."

"You showed a great deal of courage and resourcefulness."

"I don't know about that," she shrugged. "I was scared stiff."

"How are you doing?"

"I haven't had any nightmares, but I'm jumpy. It's like I expect something to grab me." She had not told Alan this; she didn't want him to worry about her more than he already did. "If you see Alan, don't mention anything. He's got too much to worry about as it is."

"I won't. Well, I'll let you get to the pool." He stood up and walked to the door. "Tell Alan hello for me."

"I will."

"Thanks for listening to me." Muldoon looked relieved. "Take care, Ellie."

"You too, Robert." Shutting the door to the suite, she walked towards the pool.


	16. Chapter 15

Yvonne, thanks for the idea and the chapter edit!

* * *

Alan swam another lap, then halted at the end of the pool, hands on hips, breathing deeply. Watching Lex and Tim play in the pool, he realized during the last two days, his back pain had dissipated. The exercise left him feeling relaxed; perhaps he would be able to sleep the night straight through for once. Climbing out of the pool, he spotted Ellie approaching. 

"Feel better?" Ellie asked.

"Much better," he said.

"Honey, you need to tan your legs," she said, her eyes twinkling.

"What's the matter with my legs?" He glanced at his legs, barely tanned, and grinned. "Well, maybe so."

"I think I'll take a dip in the Jacuzzi. Want to join me?" she asked.

"Absolutely… Lex, Tim, we're going to the Jacuzzi," he called out to the children.

"Okay, we'll be here," Tim answered.

They strolled over to the Jacuzzi and lowered themselves into the warm swirling water.

"Lynda called," she said.

"Really? Did she have any news?"

"Yeah, her divorce is finished, so she's flying here tonight." Taking his hand, she continued. "Alan, you don't have to worry about funding for field research. Lynda's going to make sure we get the amount John said we would receive for the consultation."

Alan closed his eyes, deeply relieved. "Thank you, Lynda," he whispered.

"I agree," Ellie said. She knew this would resolve his biggest worry. "We talked a while about the kids. I told her about Lex's nightmare, and Tim's apprehension about storms. She said she's determined to work everything out with Lex."

"It seems like they've made a start already."

"I think so. Lex acted a lot less hostile during their last conversation. Did you know they haven't retrieved any of the bodies from the island yet?"

Alan grimaced with distaste. "No, I didn't. Damn, that's awful."

"Joe's going to meet her tomorrow, and I told Lynda to tell Joe to swing by here and pick up the kids first." With a start, she remembered the hotel was supposed to bring the cake at nine, but she did not know the time of his meeting. "What time are they coming for you?"

"9:30…"

'Oh, okay. I guess you'll be gone when she gets here."

Alan shrugged. "Yeah, looks like it. They'll probably arrive sometime tomorrow morning."

Ellie wished he could go to the airport with them, but if the cake made it on time, her birthday plans could go on as planned at least. "Hey, you said you found out something."

"Well, more like I remembered something. In the nursery, Wu said he hoped the raptor egg would hatch before he went to the boat."

"Right… In the nursery."

"They used boats to transport equipment and personnel back and forth from the mainland to the island. If the crew didn't pay attention, the Compy could have gotten on board while they loaded the boat."

Ellie drew in a breath. "You're right." She shook her head slowly. "You know, I can remember some things with total clarity, but other events are foggy."

Alan nodded in agreement. "Same here… I forgot all about Wu." He remembered every minute on the road though, and his helplessness while surrounded by the Raptors. Those memories would remain with him for the rest of his life. "It's the only way they could have gotten to the mainland. I ran into Muldoon earlier, and he confirmed it."

She gazed at him, a half smile playing on her lips. "We talked before I came here. You didn't ask him to talk to me, did you?"

"Well… He regrets how he acted on the island," he said. "It seemed like a good idea to talk to you, to clear the air."

"I should have known. I'm glad we talked."

"He said he tried to convince Hammond and the others to destroy the Raptors, but they wouldn't hear of it. They must have decided no one would show up with a Jurassic Park without predators."

"The ironic thing is John and the others would have survived the power outage."

"The park would have been a success with herbivores, frog DNA and all." Alan's mind returned to the first sight of the Brach. "People would have come," he said, softly.

Ellie observed the distant look in Alan's eyes, and guessed his thoughts. "I think they would, too. So, larger species could potentially escape," she said.

"Juveniles could, certainly. It explains the tracks they found in the mountains."

"And they never missed them." Ellie slapped her hand on the water, tears spilling from her eyes. "Damn it, Alan, it makes me so mad to think of the wasted lives."

"I know, Ellie, I feel the same way. InGen deserves every penalty they receive. I have one more piece of news."

"What?"

"Gennaro has disappeared. They have no idea where he is."

"Unbelievable. I wonder how he got away."

"InGen got him out of the country, I'm sure. They can't have him spilling his guts to the Costa Ricans."

They spotted Tim and Lex approaching and halted their conversation.

"Hey, guys, I talked to your Mom. She'll be here tomorrow to take you back home," Ellie said.

"I guess they got their divorce," Tim said, glumly.

"Yes, that's what she said," Ellie said.

Lex looked off in the distance without comment.

* * *

"Mr. Ludlow's office, may I help you?" 

Lynda paused; surprised the receptionist would intercept the call on Peter's private number. Normally, calls on this line went straight through to his office. "Uh, yes… This is Lynda Murphy, may I speak with Peter?"

"Of course, Mrs. Murphy, please hold."

"Hi, Lynda," Ludlow said, when the line connected.

Lynda took note of the stress in his voice, but she lacked any sympathy for his problems. Peter had been one of the board members who pushed hardest for the development of Jurassic Park. "I want to talk about Alan Grant," she said.

"What about him?" he asked.

"In return for inspecting the park, my father agreed to pay him $120,000 for the inspection. I signed the divorce papers this afternoon, and I'm flying to Costa Rica tonight to get Tim and Lex. I want you to have a check cut for twice the amount."

"What? Lynda, you have to be kidding. Grant didn't even fulfill the basic agreement, and you want me to pay him twice the amount?"

"Yes, I do. Through no fault of their own, they can't leave the country. If nothing else they deserve to be paid for the time they have spent away from their research." Lynda knew Peter would be difficult to deal with, even before she dialed the number. She fought to remain calm. "Peter, they saved my children's lives, your own relatives. Does that not mean anything to you?"

"Of course it does, but business is business."

"Peter, I'm tired and I have a long flight tonight. I don't want to argue about this. For once in your life, do the right thing. Cut the check."

After a few moments of silence, Ludlow sighed. "All right, I'll have the check prepared immediately."

"Thank you, Peter. Goodbye…" Lynda placed the phone receiver in its cradle, and groaned in annoyance.

* * *

After a relaxed afternoon spent at the pool, Alan and the rest of the group returned to their suite. At Ellie's goading, he even tanned his legs a bit. A message from Joe awaited them; Lynda would arrive at the _San José_ airport at 10:30 am. 

Smiling at the delicious scent of their dinner wafting into the bedroom, he finished changing clothes. Finished dressing, he entered the living room; at the knock at the door, he checked his watch. Thinking it would be Billy arriving early; he opened the door and unexpectedly found one of the hotel employees standing beside a clothes rack.

"Good afternoon, _Señor_, I have your clothes," the young man said. "Please leave the rack outside when you are finished."

"Thanks," he said, handing the man a tip. "We have clothes," he called out, pushing the cart into Ellie's bedroom.

"Oh, good." Ellie said. Lex and Tim looked at her in alarm, and she remembered Alan's hat, hidden in the closet. They hurried into her bedroom, where they found Alan waiting. Ellie and Lex rapidly pulled their clothes from the rack, then hesitated before opening the closet door.

"Uh… I'll push the cart into our bedroom," Tim said.

"Okay, go for it," Alan said, and followed the boy out of the room.

"Whew…" Lex said.

"You said it, Lex," Ellie said, with a laugh.

After putting their clothes away, Alan and Tim returned to the living room. The phone rang; he lifted the handset, and took a seat on the couch. "Alan Grant," he said.

"Greetings," Ben said.

"Hi, Ben. How's the real world?"

"Getting cold."

"Winter's right on time in Montana."

"Yep, sure is. No change with you guys?"

"Nope, we're still stuck in paradise. I have a hard life, Ben. We spent the afternoon at the pool." Idly, he watched Ellie's graceful form move back and forth in the kitchen.

"You're going to get lazy on me. Well, we've got the raptor winterized. Alan?"

Hearing his name, Alan's attention turned back to Ben. "Sorry. I got distracted by something."

"Uh huh, I can guess who distracted you."

Alan laughed. "Hush."

"Yes, boss. I think the raptor will make it through the winter without any problems. We did everything but build a house around it."

Alan chuckled. "It'll be fine." He did not worry about the fragile skeleton; Ben knew his business.

"So, what are y'all going to do tonight?"

"Well, we ate out last night, and our waiter turned out to be a Paleo major from Idaho State."

"What's he doing in Costa Rica?"

"He dropped out during spring break. Taking a guess, I'd say he and Mabrey didn't get along."

"Doesn't surprise me a bit."

"Me either. Billy's coming over for dinner, so we'll see if we can steer him back to school." Alan heard Ben chuckle in amusement. "What?"

"Let's see, first you bring home two stray children, now you bring home a stray Paleontology student. You wait – next it'll be stray puppies and kittens."

Alan laughed sharply. "You could be right, the way it's going." He lowered his voice; the two youngsters were in the kitchen with Ellie, and he did not want them to learn of their future plans. "You'll get to meet the kids next summer. Their mother said it's okay if they spend some time with us in Montana."

"You really like those kids, don't you?"

"I do, Ben." Alan grinned, remembering Derek's words. "Oh, by the way, I'm not a pod person."

"Oops. You heard?"

"I did…" Alan heard a knock on the door. "I think our wayward student is here."

"Okay, tell Ellie hello for me."

"I will. Talk to you later."

He placed the receiver into its placeholder, and strode to the door. Opening it, he gazed at the young man who stood before him.

* * *

"Hi, Dr. Grant," Billy said, running his hand through his curly hair. 

"Afternoon, Billy, come on in," Alan said, holding the door open.

Billy hung back, suddenly intimidated by the Paleontologist's presence.

"I won't bite, I promise," Alan said.

Billy smiled sheepishly. "Yes, sir," he said, entering the suite.

"Hi, there," Ellie said.

"Hi, Dr. Sattler. Thanks for inviting me."

"We're glad to have you.

"Like something to drink?" Alan asked. "Beer, Coke, tea –"

"A Coke would be great, thanks." Though he could legally drink in Costa Rica, he had never acquired the taste for alcohol.

"Ellie?" Alan asked.

"I'd love a Coke."

Alan retrieved two Cokes and a beer for himself, newly purchased from the mini-mart from the refrigerator. "Ellie, before I forget, Ben said hello. They finished prepping the Raptor for the winter."

"Great," Ellie said.

"You found a Velociraptor?" Billy asked.

"Yeah, a juvenile. A member of my team discovered it a couple of weeks ago. It's going to have to wait until next season to be extracted."

"Where did you find it?"

"This summer we've been prospecting in the Willow Creek Anticline, in the Two Medicine formation."

"Fantastic, Dr. Grant. I know it's rare to discover a juvenile carnivore."

"True, it's one of the few we've found. It was an exciting day for us."

"I bet… Hey, guys," Billy said, to the two children, in greeting.

"Hi… It's Mr. Brennan, right?" Tim said.

"Call me Billy. And you're Lex and Tim, right?"

"Yep," Lex said.

"Tim wants to be a paleontologist, too," Alan said.

"You do? Hey, that's cool."

"I'm the only one who doesn't know what they want to do," Lex said, mournfully.

Billy laughed. "You'll find out eventually."

"I guess so," she said, sighing.

"Ellie, can we go play video games until dinner?" Tim asked.

"Sure, but be back in few minutes, dinner's about ready," Ellie said.

"Cool," Tim said. He and Lex ran for the door.

"Guys, wait — take a room key," Alan said.

"Oh, yeah," Lex said. She hurried back to the desk and placed a room key into her pocket, then made her way to the front door, where Tim waited.

"You two have a seat, I'll be finished here in a minute," Ellie said.

"Dr. Grant, I didn't know you have kids," Brennan said, taking a seat in one of the side chairs.

"Actually, they're not mine. We've been taking care of them. Their mother will be here tomorrow to get them."

"Oh, okay."

Ellie joined Alan on the couch, carrying her soft drink.

"Dr. Sattler, I read your PhD thesis in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. It was fascinating," Billy said. Only after the two scientists left the restaurant did he remember where he had heard her name. "They don't publish many dissertations in the Journal."

"Thanks, Billy. I couldn't believe they published it. Alan's the one who encouraged me to submit it. Actually he insisted I submit it."

"I don't suggest it very often, but in this case it was justified," Alan said.

"I guess you want to know why I'm not in school," Billy said.

"We did wonder," Alan said, dryly.

Billy stared at his Coke bottle before speaking. "I'm not sure where to start."

"The beginning's always a good starting point," Ellie said.

Brennan laughed. "True…" He began to relax, sensing the two scientist's genuine interest in him.

"When did you decide you wanted to study dinosaurs?" Ellie asked.

"When I was ten, my family went to Colorado on vacation, and one afternoon, we picnicked near Boulder. I went exploring and found part of a fossilized Ammonite shell. After we got home, I went to the library and checked out every dinosaur book in the place."

"You would have been in the Pierre Shale. For an invertebrate paleontologist, the area is heaven." Alan said.

"I can see why," Billy said. He knew the Shale, part of the Great Inland Sea which once stretched from Canada to New Mexico, was famous for its rich invertebrate fossil beds. His interests eventually moved to vertebrates, but he would never forget his first discovery; how it fired his imagination, and ambition, to be a Paleontologist.

"So… Tell me about Idaho State." Alan said. "Did your curriculum problems have anything to do with Jack Mabrey?"

Billy frowned, then nodded. "Yes, sir. Other than finding out he's a pompous ass, I didn't learn much of anything." He realized he might have made a serious mistake. The field of paleontology was relatively small, and most of the professional researchers knew one another. Had he insulted one of Grant's friends? To his relief, the man seemed amused at his words.

"Go ahead," Alan said, in encouragement.

"Dr. Grant, all he cares about is finding the bones, getting them out of the ground, then getting them sold to a museum. He's not interested in finding out about how they lived, their diet, or how they died. I wasted a whole year, but it's my on fault. I – well, I'd heard about Mabrey before I enrolled."

"Billy, if you knew about him, why did you go there?" Ellie asked.

"I didn't choose the school, my father did. He's an Idaho State grad, and it's the only school he would pay the tuition for. I begged him to let me enroll at another school, but he wouldn't budge. In the end, I knuckled under and enrolled there."

"Have you told him how unsatisfied you are? Surely if he understood the situation, he'd let you transfer," she said.

"I tried to tell him, but it didn't do any good, he wouldn't listen."

"Does he know you're here?" Alan asked.

"I guess so. He knows I dropped out of school," Billy said, with a shrug. "I'm sure he's thrilled about that. Some friends have my number here, but he hasn't called them or me."

Ellie glanced towards the kitchen. "Hang on a minute, I need to check the rolls," she said, rising from the couch.

"I can vouch for Ellie's roast," Alan said.

"What about my roast?" Ellie called out from the kitchen.

"I said I can vouch for it."

"Why, thank you, dear."

After a short time, Ellie rejoined them. "Okay — so your father won't pay for any other university but Idaho State."

"Right."

"I've seen this happen before," Alan said.

'Really?" Billy asked.

"The parent's become absorbed in the alumni thing, and they forget to do what's best for their child."

"Well, I've been thinking about school a lot lately, especially since last night," Billy said. "I've decided to go back to college, but not at Idaho State. Hello, student loans!"

Alan laughed. "Your grades?"

"Decent… 3.6 GPA, the last semester."

"What's your minor?" Ellie asked.

"Geology. I enjoyed the Geology classes. They have a good department."

"Excellent," Alan said. "You'll have a good grounding."

"Don't forget there are grants and scholarships available," Ellie said. "If you get back into school and keep your grades high, you can apply for those. They can be a lifesaver, believe me."

"Yeah, that's true," Billy said.

"Do you have a university in mind?" Alan said.

Billy grinned. "Yeah. I'd like to enroll at Denver and study under you and Dr. Sattler."

"We'd be glad to have you," Alan said.

"I'm too late for fall registration, but I could register for the spring semester."

"Billy, don't forget UD is a private university, and the out of state fees are steep," Ellie said. "The university requires you to live in state at least three months to establish residency."

"Oh, okay." Three months… He would have to move to Colorado in the next month to make the registration deadline.

"Have you done any field work?" Alan asked.

"No, sir…" he said. Mabrey only took a small number of undergraduate students each season and Billy had not been chosen, which only added to his discontent; he wanted badly to get into the field.

"I rotate my undergrad students, so everybody gets field experience," Alan said. "You'll find the reality of field research is one hundred and eighty degrees from the romantic vision people have. It's hard, grinding work. We'll see how much you want to be a digger."

Billy noted the unspoken challenge in the man's eyes; a challenge he would meet. A digger – in his mind, it was the highest compliment a paleontologist could receive. "I'm ready to start right now."

Alan nodded. "Except for the Raptor extraction, most of the team will be at Hell Creek next season."

Billy forced himself to breathe at the words "Hell Creek." His future now seemed limitless. He would get to dig at one of the most famous fossil fields in the world, to study under one of the foremost researchers alive. "Oh, man, Dr. Grant, that's going to be fantastic."

Billy heard a key in the lock, the doorknob turned; Tim and Lex burst in.

"Did we make it?" Lex asked.

"You did, barely," Alan said, with a grin. "Do any good on the machines?"

"You bet, I beat Lex," Tim said.

"It's the only thing you can beat me at," Lex said.

Tim made a face, and rolled his eyes, then his expression turned uneasy at the low rumble of thunder. Billy did not miss the concerned glance which passed between the two adults and the girl.

After a moment, the boy's expression returned to normal: Billy wondered what had transpired.

"Well, I think dinner's about ready," Ellie said, hastily.

"I'll help set the table," Lex said, glancing anxiously at Tim.

Billy and Lex followed Ellie into the kitchen; he observed Alan and the boy remained in the living room, engaged in conversation. After a moment, they joined them in the kitchen; once again, the same look passed between Alan and Ellie. Ellie patted Tim on the shoulder affectionately.

Dividing the duties, they rapidly set the table. "I see you've discovered plantain," Billy said.

Alan nodded. "We've got Lex and Tim hooked, I'm afraid."

"Did you really mash them?" Tim asked.

"I sure did. I took a bite, and they're delicious," Ellie said. "The mashed plantain tastes better than mashed potatoes."

"Wow!" Tim exclaimed. "Really? Cool!"

"My mom said we could get some when we get back home," Lex said.

"Dr. Grant said your mother's coming to get you tomorrow," Billy said.

"Yeah…" she said. "I guess so…"

"Well, everybody, take a seat," Alan said.

They began to pass the side dishes around the table, while Alan sliced the roast. After taking a section, he took a few of the roasted vegetables and passed the platter to Ellie.

"Dr. Sattler, Dr. Grant, I can't thank you enough for inviting me," Brennan said.

"Anytime, Billy," Ellie said. She touched Alan on the arm. "Hey, Alan, why don't you give Billy your number at the University."

"Oh, yeah, I should." He wrote his office number on the pad and handed it to Billy. "I'm not sure when we'll get back to Denver, so if I'm not there, ask for Ben Kincannon. He heads the preparatory staff, and he'll know about you. He'll be able to help you out."

"Thanks. Well, I'd better get out of here." Billy had borrowed a friend's car, and he wanted to return it before it got too late. He knew the streets would be wet from the evening rain.

"Drive carefully," Ellie said.

"I will. Thanks again… For everything."

Alan closed the door and locked it for the night. "You know, Ellie, maybe our extended stay in Costa Rica won't be a total waste after all."

"I know. You may have found a good student. Did you see his face when you said Hell Creek?" Ellie asked.

"His eyes about popped out," he said, chuckling. He watched Ellie bend over and whisper into Lex's ear.

"Okay, what's going on?" Alan asked.

"Alan, it's early, why don't we play Monopoly," Lex said.

"Come on, please?" Tim begged. "It'll be fun."

"Fun…" Alan said, with a sigh. "All right, you win."

He watched the others exchange high fives, and once again, a strange "what if" feeling came over him. What if he and Ellie had a child? After a moment, he savagely wiped the idea from his mind.

* * *

Lex gasped and came awake suddenly, choking off the scream, which threatened to escape. Trembling, she inhaled deeply, then nervously gazed at the other bed, relieved Ellie slept on. This nightmare, like the first, had been chaotic; the terror of being chased by the Rex. She lay back for a few minutes, fighting back tears, fighting the panic. 

Finally, her breathing returned to normal, but wide-awake now, she realized it would be a while before she fell asleep. Deciding to sit for a while on the patio, she quietly made her way through the living room, and opened the patio door. She stopped, surprised to see Alan.

Alan heard the door softly open. "Hi, there," he said. "Looks like somebody else couldn't sleep."

Lex took one of the other chairs. "I had a nightmare," she said.

"Oh, I see. Like the one before?"

"Yeah, pretty much. At least I didn't wake everybody this time. You couldn't sleep again?"

Alan shook his head and frowned. "Nope." Despite the exercise, his hopes for a solid night's sleep had not materialized.

"We're kind of messed up, aren't we?" Lex asked. "Timmy never used to be scared of storms, and now he freaks when he hears thunder."

"I'm afraid so, Lex. There's no way we could go through a traumatic event like that, and not suffer aftereffects."

"I guess so… Are you and Ellie going to keep digging for dinosaurs?"

"We are," Alan said, silently giving thanks to Lynda.

"I'm glad. You really like what you do, don't you?"

Alan nodded. "We love our jobs, both the field work, and the teaching. Teaching's the most challenging part, but it's the most satisfying thing I do."

"I hope Tim gets to study dinosaurs, too. He's really smart, you know."

"I'd say you both are smart kids."

Lex smiled shyly. "Thanks."

They did not say anything for a few moments, then Lex broke the silence. "Alan, I've been thinking about something. Was Grandpa a bad man? I mean the company belonged to him."

"A bad man, no, he wasn't a bad man. I know he never wanted anyone to get hurt, and he wanted the park to succeed. But they cut corners on safety, and depended too much on the technology to control the animals." He did not mention Nedry's sabotage. "Once everything began to unravel, there was no way to stop the disaster."

"I wonder what's going to happen to the company."

"Well, InGen will receive some stiff fines and lawsuits probably."

"Are you going to sue them, too?"

"No, we have no desire to drag everything into the open."

"I'm going to miss you and Ellie. Tim is, too."

"We're going to miss you guys, too. We'll keep in touch, though. Before you leave, remind me to give you our phone numbers. You can call us anytime."

"Okay. It's not going to be the same, though."

"You'll get busy with school and forget all about us," he said, teasingly.

"No, we won't, Alan," Lex said, seriously. "Never…"

"Well, we won't forget about you, either."

"Good."

Lex suddenly yawned, covering her mouth with her hand.

"See, I've gone and bored you," he said, which made Lex laugh.

"No, you haven't. I'm getting sleepy again."

"You know, I think I'm ready to go back to bed, too."

They both stood, and on the way back inside Lex paused. "Alan, don't tell Timmy I said he was smart, I'll never hear the end of it," she said.

"Lex, I won't say a word,"


	17. Chapter 16

"Ellie, when is the cake coming?" Tim asked.

Ellie tapped her fingers on the countertop, and took a quick look at her watch, wondering the same thing. The cake was ten minutes late. Alan was in the shower, so it would be the perfect time for them to deliver it. "It was supposed to be here by nine-thirty. I think I'll give the front desk a call." However, before she could make the call, she heard a knock at the door.

"Good morning, Mr. McTeer sends his apology," the hotel employee said, holding the boxed cake. "Things got hectic, and this was the first time we've been able to deliver the cake."

"That's fine, it's perfect timing," Ellie said.

"Mr. McTeer thought you might need a book of matches for the candles."

"Oh, I forgot all about them, thanks." Placing the matches in her pocket, she took the cake from the young man. "Please thank Mr. McTeer for me."

"I'll do that. Enjoy the cake."

"We will." Ellie shut the door and turned towards Lex and Tim. "Guys, go get Alan's hat, and we'll surprise him when he gets finished dressing."

"Okay, "Lex said.

"Let's hide everything behind the kitchen counter, so Alan won't see it,"

"Excellent," Tim said, placing Alan's hat on the counter beside the boxed cake.

A few minutes later, Alan came out of his bedroom. "All done," he said, giving Ellie kiss.

Tim made a retching noise, drawing a smack on the arm from Lex. "Tim, that is so gross. They're just kissing," she said.

"I know — that's what's gross," Tim said.

"I don't know how Mom puts up with you," Lex said, rolling her eyes.

Laughing, Ellie smiled at Alan, her expression mysterious. "Follow me."

"What's going on?" Alan asked.

"You'll see." Ellie said.

"Happy Birthday!" Tim exclaimed as they walked into the kitchen.

Alan pulled up short as he spotted the cake and wrapped present. "I was hoping you'd forget." Nevertheless, he was interested to see what Ellie had gotten him for his birthday.

"Not a chance," Ellie said. "I wasn't about to let you off the hook. Come on birthday boy, bring your present over here," she said.

As Alan carried his present to the table, Lex brought the cake to the table and removed it from the box.

Ellie began to sing, "Happy Birthday," joined by the children.

"Alan, make a wish and blow out the candles," Tim said.

Alan paused and thought for a few moments, then he grinned at Ellie, took a breath, and blew out the candles. His wish was a simple one; that they could return home and live out their lives together.

"I hope you like your present," Lex said

"I'm sure I will." Alan took a seat at the table and inspected the gift-wrapped box. "This is terrific, how in the world did you find all this?"

"It was a group effort. The hotel supplied the cake," Ellie said with a smile.

Alan began to rip the paper off. "Well, let's see what we have here," he said, lifting the top off the box. He sat motionless, staring at the hat.

"Alan?" Ellie asked. When she did not get an answer, she touched him on the arm. "Honey?"

Finally, Alan removed the hat from the box, and held it in his hands. He looked at each of them with a broad smile. "It's perfect," he said. "Thank you so much." He gave the kids a hug, and held Ellie close for long minute. "You're the best, you know that?" he whispered in her ear.

Ellie's happiness faded; she wanted to be more than just the best to Alan, she wanted; she needed to know there was more to their relationship.

Alan placed the hat on his head, and arranged the brim to his satisfaction; although the fit was a little tight, he knew it would adjust over time.

"Wow, it looks great," Lex said.

"Let me go see," Alan said. Trailed by Lex and Tim, he strode into his bathroom. Peering into the mirror, he nodded in approval.

"Looks good," Tim said.

"I agree," Alan said. "Hey, it's early, but how about some cake?" He realized for the first time that Ellie had not accompanied them.

"Can we?" Lex asked.

"I think it can be arranged," Alan said.''

They returned to the kitchen; Alan found Ellie waiting, her expression set. He wondered why the abrupt change in her mood.

"The birthday boy has decided he wants some cake," Alan said, hoping it would cheer her up.

"Okay, I'll cut it." Ellie said, without enthusiasm.

_Damn, what __have I done now?_ Alan wondered, placing his hat on the table; determined to discover why she was upset. "Ellie, is everything okay?"

Ellie looked into Alan's puzzled eyes. She recognized his words had been said in innocence and she had overreacted. "Yeah, I just had one of those weird moments. I'm fine," she said, running her hand down his arm in affection.

"You sure?"

Ellie nodded and smiled. "You look very dashing."

"Thank you. It's a wonderful surprise."

"You do like it? I know how particular you are about your headgear."

"Well, if I had been shopping for a hat and seen it, I would have bought it myself."

"I'm glad. I was going to get you a wallet, but I decided to gamble. You don't look right without a hat."

"I didn't feel right without having one," he said with a chuckle, then glanced at the cake. "Ahhh… chocolate, my favorite."

"Yes, it is."

"I'll get the plates," Lex said.

"And I'll get the forks," Tim said.

"Tim, bring a knife to cut the cake, too," Ellie said. While Lex and Tim set the table, she changed her mind about cutting the cake, and handed Alan the knife. "You can do the honors."

"I think I can handle it." Alan cut four pieces of cake; the rich scent of chocolate drifted up to him. As he finished his piece of cake, hearing the knock on the door, they all turned. With grim steps, Alan rose and walked to the door. "Good morning, Dr. Grant," the man said.

"Good morning," Alan said.

"If you are ready, I will escort you to the ministry building."

Alan nodded, putting his hat on. "I'll be back later," he called out.

"Bye, Alan," Lex said.

* * *

Lynda Murphy strolled away from the Lear Jet, and then began to walk faster as she spotted Tim waving beside a white passenger van. The boy began to run towards her; she kneeled and held her arms wide.

"Hi, Mom!" Tim shouted, engulfing her in a hug.

"Oh, Timmy, I'm so glad to see you," Lynda said, holding him tight. She looked over him to where her daughter stood.

"Hi, Mom," Lex said.

"Hi, Honey," she said.

The two gazed at each other, then Lex closed the distance and joined in the hug. "I've missed you two so much," Lynda said.

Separating, Lynda backed up a step to take a close look at her children. Except for a few fading bruises, they looked healthy. Standing off to one side, she spotted a tall, blonde woman, and a muscular young man. "You must be Ellie," she said, holding out her hand, which Ellie shook with a firm handshake.

"I am. Alan will meet us back at the hotel. We were hoping the Costa Ricans would leave him alone for once, but no luck," she said.

"Lynda, I'm Joe Reiling."

"Joe, I'm glad to meet you," Lynda said, shaking his hand.

Joe collected the large empty suitcase Lynda had brought for Lex and Tim's clothes, while Tim grabbed a smaller suitcase.

"I got it," Tim said.

"Be my guest," Joe said.

"The children look terrific, Ellie," Lynda said, as they followed Joe to the van.

"Considering everything they've been through, they're doing well."

"I should have never let them go to that island. I was so stupid," she said. "I should have known something would happen."

Ellie stopped and faced Lynda. "You sound like Alan," she said. "He blames himself for putting me in danger. I'll tell you the same thing I told him. You couldn't have known what was going to happen, and you trusted John to keep your children safe. We all did."

Lynda nodded. "I know you're right, but… Oh, I don't know," she said with a rueful laugh. "I'm such a mess right now."

"I understand," Ellie said, and smiled at Lynda's skeptical expression. "My parents divorced when I was a child, and I know it took a while for my mother to get her life together."

"I have hope then." Lynda heard the understanding and compassion in her voice. She liked Ellie Sattler, and was thankful her children had been in her care.

"Mom, Ellie come on. It's going to rain," Lex called out.

"Oops," Lynda said. "She's right." She observed the dark clouds approaching and the two women hurried to the van.

On the way to the hotel, the children filled Lynda in on what they had been doing while in _San José_. Joe Reiling hadn't been able to tell her much about the accident, but although she knew it had been a horrible experience, her children's high spirits impressed her. _Accident_…what an inadequate word for what had happened to them on the island.

After Lynda checked into the hotel, they accompanied her to the one-bedroom suite that the Embassy had reserved for her.

"Joe, I'll take that one," Lynda said, referring to the smaller of the two suitcases.

Joe nodded, and glanced at his watch. "Well, I need to get back to work. I've got a meeting in a half hour."

"Okay, thanks, Joe," Lynda said.

Joe nodded and smiled. "It was my pleasure, Lynda. Ellie, tell Alan hello for me. I'll meet you folks at ten tomorrow morning."

"We'll be ready," Ellie said. "Lex, Tim, let's give your mom some time to freshen up," she said. "Lynda, we're right down the hall in suite five."

"I'll be there in a few minutes," Lynda said.

"Should we take our suitcase?" Lex asked.

"That's a good idea, Lex," Ellie said.

"Rats," Ellie said, disappointed to find the suite empty. She glanced out the window, hearing the slow drip of rain begin. At least it was not thundering.

They each took a seat in the living room to wait for Lynda. "Ellie?" Lex asked. "I've been thinking about something. We shouldn't talk about what happened on the island, right?"

Ellie exhaled; she had not thought about it. "I think that would be the best thing for everyone."

"Nobody would believe us anyway," Tim said.

"You might be right," Ellie said.

"Can I start packing?" Lex asked.

"Sure, that's a good idea," Ellie said. "Be sure to keep out your pajamas and your toothbrush and toothpaste. And keep out a change of clothes to wear tomorrow."

"Okay, I will," Lex said. She grabbed the suitcase and went into her bedroom.

"I need to figure out what we're going to have for lunch," Ellie said. "I bet Lynda's hungry."

"I'm hungry, too," Tim said, following her into the kitchen.

"I bet you are." Opening the refrigerator, Ellie stood with her hands on her hips. "We have leftover roast beef. How would you like a roast beef sandwich?" She would warm the leftover vegetables for Lex.

"Cool," Tim said.

A few seconds later, there was a knock on the door, and Tim ran to answer it.

"Come on in. Alan hasn't gotten back yet," Ellie said to Lynda, as she entered the suite.

"What kind of information are they trying to get out of him?" Lynda asked, frowning.

"It's one of life's great mysteries. They keep asking him the same questions. It's like they're waiting for something, but we can't figure out what." For a moment, her frustration threatened to boil over and she took a deep breath to calm herself. "Can I get you some iced tea?"

"Oh, sure, I'd love some."

To her relief, Ellie heard the sound of a key inserted into the doorknob.

"Hi, guys," Alan said, entering the suite. He placed his hat and the key on the desk. "Lynda, I'm sorry I missed you at the airport," he said, with a rueful smile. "My keepers couldn't do without me for one day it seems," he grumbled.

"I'm sorry they're doing this to you," she said, taking his hand.

Alan shrugged. "I'm almost used to it." He glanced at Tim and Ellie could see his mood brighten.

"Hey, Tim," Alan said.

"Hi, Alan," the boy said. "I'm glad you're back."

"Me too. Where did Lex get off too?"

"Lex is doing some packing. I was about to get us some iced tea; want a glass?" Ellie asked.

"Tea would be great."

"Lynda, have you had lunch yet?" Ellie asked, as she poured three glasses of tea.

"No, I haven't."

"Well, if you don't mind leftovers, we've got roast beef for sandwiches and vegetables for Lex."

"That sounds wonderful." Lynda had noticed the leftover birthday cake on the table.

"Today's Alan's birthday," Tim said.

"Oh, I see. Happy birthday."

"Thanks," Alan said.

"We got him a new hat." Tim said. "He lost his old one on the island."

"That's too bad."

"I was fond of that hat, but I'm happy with my new one." Alan said.

After everyone had sweetened the drinks to their liking, they made their way to the living room.

"I'm going to go bother Lex," Tim said with a sly grin.

"Don't forget, she's bigger than you are," Lynda said, with a chuckle, as Tim ran into Lex's bedroom.

"Ellie's told me a little bit about what's been going on since you got to_San José_," Lynda said.

"I'm beginning to feel like I should just record the answers and send it to them," Alan said. He looked over and saw Lex and Tim enter his bedroom with a suitcase.

"Lex brought up something earlier. She didn't think she or Tim should talk about what happened on the island," Ellie said.

Alan sat upright. "I hadn't thought about it."

"I hadn't either," Ellie said. "I thought she had the right idea."

"I think she does," Lynda said.

"They haven't talked about it much, and we haven't pressed them. They do need to talk about what happened."

"When they're ready, I'll be glad to talk to them," Lynda said.

They were interrupted as Lex marched into the living room, arguing with Tim.

"Did you get packed?' Lynda asked.

"Almost…Lex took forever, of course. She had to put everything in _just right_," Tim said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, be quiet. Tim's making a total mess of the suitcase," Lex said.

"I'll go check out the disaster area later," Lynda said with a chuckle.

"I think I'm going to get lunch ready," Ellie said.

"Need some help?" Alan asked.

"If you want to get the dishes and silverware out, that would be terrific."

"Will do." Alan pulled the dishes out along with the silverware from the dishwasher.

"What can I do?" Lynda asked.

"I think Alan and I can handle everything," Ellie said.

"Okay, I'm going to survey the suitcase disaster, then," Linda said.

Ellie laughed. "Good luck," she said.

Lynda went into the bedroom, and sat down on the bed next to the suitcase. Tim had indeed made a mess of the suitcase. With a shake of her head, she began to sort their clothes.

After a few seconds, her daughter entered the room. "See what I mean?" Lex asked.

"I do."

"I had all my clothes packed, and Tim messed everything up. I don't know why he has to be such a slob."

"Well, he's a boy."

Lex giggled. "True."

"I want to talk to you." Linda said, as Lex took a seat next to her. "Honey, I've been a lousy parent. I've been preoccupied with all my troubles, and I know it's hurt you." She stroked Lex's blond tresses. "I almost lost you and Tim on that island, it scared me so much, and it made me realize I've neglected you two. I promise, from now on, I'm going to be the best parent I know how. Can you forgive me?"

Lex looked at Lynda, her eyes filled with tears. With a sob, she launched herself into her mother's arms. "Mommy, I love you."

Lynda began to cry as well. It had been years since Lex had called her that, it seemed like they had been fighting for just as long. "I love you, too, sweetie."

"I'm sorry about blaming you for what happened with the divorce and all. I was wrong," Lex said.

"Well, here's what we're going to do. Today we're starting over, okay?"

"Okay..."

As they pulled apart, Lynda observed Alan's clothes hanging in the closet. "Lex, are Alan and Ellie going together?"

"Yeah, but Ellie's sleeping in the other bedroom in the other twin bed. Tim's been sleeping on the sofa bed."

"Oh, I see..." she thought it was a thoughtful gesture on their part. " I like them."

"Me too," Lex said. "Ellie's cool and funny. They're both smart, but they aren't stuffy – well, Alan's kind of grumpy sometimes, but Mom, he's so brave, and he's interested in helping Tim become a Paleontologist."

"And he's handsome, too."

Lynda was amused to see Lex blush.

"Yeah, he is," the girl said.

As they wiped their tears away, Tim entered the bedroom. "Why are you crying?" he asked.

"Well, we're just too emotional," Lynda said, as she and Lex began to laugh.

"Weird. Alan said we can have the Monopoly game and the puzzle."

"You know, I haven't played Monopoly in years," Lynda said. "We'll have to start playing."

"Really? You will?" Tim said in surprise.

Lynda winced to herself; that something most families did would be so surprising to her son was embarrassing to her now. "Timmy, come over and sit down, okay?" She continued after Tim sat down beside her. "I'm going to say the same thing I told Lex. I haven't been a very good parent. From now on, I'm going to be the best parent I know how to be. We're going to have fun, and be a real family, okay?"

Tim grinned broadly. "Cool!"

"Mom, what about Dad?" Lex asked.

That was a harder subject, Lynda thought. After they had separated, her ex-husband had not acted the least bit interested in the children, and had only seen them a few times. She did not want to get their hopes up. "I don't know what's going to happen with your father. He has visitation rights, if he chooses to use them. I hope he'll stay in your life."

She broached the next subject with care. "I know you two went through a terrible time on the island, and saw some horrendous things. If you want to talk about it, I'm here."

Both children nodded. "Okay," Lex said.

At that moment, Alan poked his head into the room. "Lunch is ready."

"Thanks, Alan," Lynda said. "Come on, we don't want to hold up lunch."

As they ate, Alan realized it was a good time to bring up their plans for next summer. "You know Tim, Ellie and I had an idea. If it's okay with your mother, we'd love to have you come to Montana next summer and do some prospecting with us - if you don't mind getting up early.

Tim jumped out of his chair and looked with excitement between his mother and Alan. "Mom, can I please?"

"You don't want to go to summer camp?" Linda asked.

"No way, I want to go to Montana with Alan and Ellie. Please, Mom?" he asked, bouncing on his toes.

"Well, I guess I can let you go then."

"All right! Thanks, Mom. Wow, Alan, it's going to be so cool!"

"Well, it'll be cool until July," Alan said.

"I meant it'll be cool to be there," Tim said, then realized Alan was joking with him. "Ha, ha…"

Ellie noticed Lex had a frown on her face, and exchanged a look with Alan. "We'd love for you to come to Montana, if you want to."

"Really? I'd like that," she said, smiling now.

"Alan? Can we go play video games? We still have some Costa Rican money." Tim asked after lunch.

"Sure, go ahead," he said, handing Tim his room key. The two youngsters took off for the game room.

"Oh, I almost forgot something. I'll be right back," Lynda said, and strolled out of the suite

Soon, Alan heard a tap on the door. Lynda entered the suite, handing him the check that Peter had cut for her. "I want you to have this and no arguments either."

As he took the check, Alan saw the amount and did a double take, astonished to see it was twice as much as he was expecting. "Wait, this is too much."

"No, it isn't enough. I can't put a monetary value on all you've done for me, but this will be a start, I hope."

Alan did not know what to say. "Lynda, thank you from both of us." He would not have to worry about funding his field research for several years, and in fact could upgrade some field equipment. "Ellie can you keep this? My wallet's a mess."

"Sure," Ellie said, placing it in her wallet, shocked at the amount of the check.

"Ellie told me about the problems Tim and Lex have been having," Lynda said, after taking a seat in one of the chairs.

Alan nodded. "A couple of nights after we arrived, we had a storm, and Tim had a panic attack. He handles thunder a lot better now, so perhaps he's adjusting. He gets a little anxious, but nothing like that first time." He smiled grimly in response to Lynda's questioning glance. "We were on the road in the storm when the Rex attacked us. I think thunder reminds him of that time."

"My God, Alan. That must have been terrifying."

"You know, I thought the Rex would be the worst of it, and we would be safe once we made it back to the Visitors Center. I was wrong on that count. We couldn't have been in more danger."

"Was it the Velociraptors?"

Ellie and Alan looked at Lynda. "Yes. Nedry cut the power to the raptor enclosure, and they got loose. How did you find out about them?" Ellie said.

"While I was on the board, I did some independent research on the different species they were creating. I have to say, they frightened me just reading about them. Of all the species they were planning to keep, they seemed to be the most dangerous."

"You were right," Alan said. "They're intelligent and vicious, and they almost got us all. It was madness to create them."

"I passed the information to the rest of the board," Lynda said. "There was some concern, but in the end, greed won out. I sometimes wish I'd have stayed on the board, kept fighting for… I don't know; some small bit of sanity to prevail."

"It sounds like you did your best. I just hope there aren't any more of them," Ellie said.

"What do you mean?" Lynda asked. "I was told the island was bombed and the dinosaurs were killed."

The two scientists exchanged a look. "Some species have escaped to the mainland. There have been attacks on some babies, and before we left for Isla Nublar, we received a fax image of the hindquarters of a _Procompsognathid_."

Lynda looked at them, dumfounded at the news. "Alan, please tell me you're joking."

"I wish I was. There have been other larger tracks found. No one knows what species they are. I hope whatever they are, they'll stay far away from civilization."

"How did they get to the mainland?"

Alan told her everything Guitierrez had disclosed to them as well as his hypothesis about how the dinosaurs could have reached the mainland.

"That's incredible. What is the government doing about this?"

"I don't think there's much they can do at this point."

"Even if they are herbivores, they could do great damage to the native ecosystem," Ellie said.

"What if they're predators?" Lynda asked.

"I try not to think of that," Alan said. No one said anything for a long moment, until Alan spoke again. "We haven't said anything about this to Lex and Tim. There's no use scaring them further."

"Good."

"One other thing. Lex had a nightmare last night," Alan said.

"She did?" Ellie asked surprised she had not woken up.

"I couldn't sleep so I went out to the patio," Alan said, nodding. "She showed up a few minutes later. She said she was glad she didn't wake everybody up. She had a bad one the second night we were here."

"I see," Lynda said. "I'll keep an eye out for that when we get home."

A stab of worry shot through Ellie. Alan had not said he was still having trouble sleeping, in fact; he looked fine.

The door opened and Tim and Lex returned from the video game room. "Well, we are now broke," Lex said, with a giggle.

"Uh, oh," Lynda said. "

"Since we're all here, I think there's something we should discuss," Ellie said, as she remembered what Lex had asked her earlier that day. "Lex brought up something that I think needs to be discussed."

"You mean whether we should talk about what happened?" Lex asked.

"Right. Lex and Tim didn't think it was a good idea, and I agree."

"I think that's very wise," Alan said.

Lex shrugged. "Like Tim said, who would believe us?"

Alan thought of the diary he and Ellie had written. If they were forced to go public, would anyone believe them, even their friends?

* * *

"Good morning," Alan said, as Joe entered the suite.

"Morning Alan," Joe said. "Good morning everybody."

Lex and Tim had finished packing after breakfast, this time with Lynda's supervision. Their suitcase now sat in the living room next to Lynda's suitcase.

"Hi, Joe," Tim said.

"Ready to head back home?" Joe asked.

"I guess so," Lex said.

"I think you guys have everything packed, right?" Alan asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Tim said.

"Okay, while Lynda's checking out, we can load up the suitcases," Alan said.

Lynda checked out of the hotel, and with the suitcases loaded, they made the trip to the airport. After parking near the InGen jet, Alan and Joe carried the suitcases to the airplane where one of crewmembers met them.

"Mrs. Hammond, we'll take off when you're ready," the crewmember said.

"We'll be there in a minute," Lynda said.

"Of course," the man said.

They all turned to face each other, and for a moment, no one said anything. Alan cleared his throat. "Well," he said. "I want to give you something." He took two pieces of paper out of his shirt pocket, which contained their home and University telephone numbers, as well as the number for their field phone. "We're in Denver during the school year and Montana during the summer," he said, handing each child a paper. "If you want to talk to us, we'll be at one of these numbers. You can call us anytime."

Lex and Tim nodded, their eyes filled with tears. They rushed to him and he found himself surrounded by Lex and Tim, their arms around him.

"I'm going to miss you," Tim said.

"I'm going to miss you, too, but hey, we're just a phone call away," Alan said, patting his back, his throat tight with emotion.

"Tim, don't forget those English classes," Alan said, trying to lighten the mood.

Tim broke into a smile at Alan's words. "I won't."

"Thank you," Lex said.

Lex and Tim next embraced Ellie, who felt the hot sting of tears on her face. She would miss these two children. Thrown together by circumstance; they had made an indelible impression on her. "Remember what we talked about," she whispered to Lex.

"I will. Thanks for listening to me," Lex said.

"Any time, kiddo."

With reluctance, they broke the hug.

Lynda exchanged embraces with the two scientists. "You take care of each other."

"We will," Ellie said.

"Ready to go?" Lynda said.

The children nodded, then trudged up the stairs followed by Lynda, Tim turned back and waved and then disappeared into the plane. Lex turned and did the same. Linda with a wave of her own, disappeared into the jet.

A lump in her throat, Ellie waved, then with her arm around Alan's waist, walked back to the van with Joe, and climbed in.

"Since the kids are gone, you guys are going to have to come up with something else to fill your time," Joe said, as he drove away from the airport.

It occurred to Alan that this would be their first night alone in days, hell, weeks. After everything that had happened, they deserved a special night out. "I'm sure we can figure something out."

Soon, they pulled up in front of the hotel. "You guys have a good night," Joe said.

"We will," Alan said.

"Going to check for messages?" Ellie asked as they entered the hotel.

"Nope, and I don't intend on the answering the phone either. For today, it's just the two of us," he said. As fond as he was of the children, it was nice to have Ellie all to himself again.

"Oh, I see. Have anything special in mind?"

"I think a dinner out is a good place to start. Then we might have to improvise again."

Ellie smiled; she had fond memories of the last time they had improvised

"Let's take a look at that guide book," Alan said. "I want to find out what the best restaurant in San Jose is." They had spent little of their cash; he felt like splurging.

"Uh, oh," Ellie said, her heart sinking, as they approached their suite. A Costa Rican man stood by the door, waiting for Alan.

Alan cursed under his breath; he had been told that he would have the day free.

"Good afternoon, Dr. Grant. I'm sorry to disturb you, but Minister Olvera needs to see you."

"About what?" Alan said, irritated to see the man.

"He did not say."

"Well, maybe we can salvage the evening," Ellie said.

"Yeah, we will. I'll see you later."

"Okay." She fought off the urge to tell him she loved him. After she watched Alan trudge down the hall beside the other man, she retrieved her room key and entered the suite. Dropping her backpack on a chair, she sat on the couch, her arms crossed across her chest. _Now what can I do_, she thought to herself. She had picked up after the kids before they left for the airport, and the suite was clean.

Full of nervous energy, she went to the window and stared outside. Their suite was too quiet, she mused. She had become used to having the children around. She realized she had not spoken to her parents in a few days; nodding to herself, she decided that's what she would do.

She gasped and turned at the loud noise, her heart racing. "Yikes," she said, realizing it was the phone. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she answered the phone.

"Hi, there," her mother said.

"Oh, hi, Mom," she said.

"Are you okay?" Abby asked.

Ellie laughed in nervousness. "I'm fine. The phone startled me." It had happened again; the instant panic. What was wrong with her? "You read my mind. I was just going to call you."

Abby laughed. "Your father and I were wondering if you have any idea when you would be leaving."

"I'm afraid not. Alan's talking to the Costa Rican's now."

"How are your bumps and bruises?"

"Oh, much better. Alan's back is doing fine." If he could just sleep, she thought.

"Good. I was wondering what you were doing about your classes?"

"We've made arrangements for substitutes. We have one of my Grad students taking my class and one of Alan's PhD candidates is teaching his basic Paleontology course. Neither one of us are happy about it, but until the Costa Rican's finish their investigation, we're stuck here."

"Oh, that's too bad. Are you still taking care of the children?"

"They left for home this morning with their mother."

"I have a hard time picturing Alan with the kids."

"Oh, Mom, he's great with them. The other evening, they even talked him into playing Monopoly," she said with a laugh. "The boy, Tim's his name, wants to be a Paleontologist. They're coming out to Montana next summer. I still have no clue why he's so against having children, but I'm hoping this will encourage him to talk about it when we get home."

"Why wait until you get home?"

"Well," she said, hesitating. "Alan's got a lot on his mind right now, and he's frustrated by everything that's going on. I don't want to push him."

"I can understand that, but you're going to have to get to the bottom of this."

"I know, I know," she said, with a sigh; they had had this conversation before.

"Okay, I'll stop nagging you."

Ellie laughed. "It's okay."

"Well, I should get back to work."

"I'll talk to you later, I hope with good news."

"Bye, honey."

"Bye, Mom."

Ellie sighed as she replaced the receiver. Deciding to move her clothes into Alan's bedroom, she made her way into her room.

* * *

Joe walked up to his desk, and as he removed his suit jacket, his phone rang. "Reiling," he said, tossing his coat on his desk.

"Joe, it's Ambassador Pauley. The Costa Rican's have found tracks on the mainland. They think they're dinosaur tracks."

"My God," Joe said.

"Look, they're on their way to pick Grant up. They want him to go look at the tracks."

Oh, damn… Joe thought. He knew how that would go over with the man.

"Meet me downstairs in five minutes," Pauley said.

"Yes, sir, I'll be there."

Joe grabbed his jacket and ran to the elevator.

* * *

As soon as Alan arrived at the ministry building, he was ushered into Olvera's office. Standing across from him was a military officer.

"Dr. Grant, I'm sorry to bring you here today," Olvera said. "I have an urgent matter that I must discuss with you. This is General Silva, head of our National Guard."

Alan nodded. "General..."

"I have read much about your exploits on Isla Nublar," Silva said.

Alan nodded again, and looked at both men. His internal radar was singing; something was wrong.

Olvera cleared his throat. "Earlier you told _Senor _Moreno that it was possible that some of the animals might have escaped on the supply boats."

"It's the most logical explanation. Why?"

Olvera glanced at the General. "A series of tracks have been discovered in a new cleared field in the northern part of our country. We suspect they may be escaped dinosaurs from the island."

Alan closed his eyes trying to drive the sudden image of the raptors surrounding them, cutting off all escape. Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes. "What did the tracks look like?"

"The men who found them stated they had three toes, and were as long as a man's foot."

_Bipedal_... "Did they see any animals?" Alan asked.

"No, the men were too frightened to investigate further. Dr. Grant, we need to you to look at the tracks."

Alan stared at Olvera in disbelief. "No way, no how. Have somebody take some photos, and I'll take a look at them. I'm not going anywhere."

"There's no time for that. Rain is predicted for later today. You will be protected." Olvera glanced at the General, who nodded in the affirmative.

"That's true, Dr. Grant," Silva said, with confidence. "A detachment of soldiers will accompany you. You will be very safe."

Famous last words, Alan thought. He tried to think of a way out of this jam. He thought about calling Ellie, but dismissed the thought. He did not want to worry her. There was nothing she could do, anyway.

Alan was about to demand a call to Pauley, when Olvera's intercom buzzed, though the conversation was in Spanish, Alan heard her say "Ambassador Pauley," and heaved a small sigh of relief. Olvera said something, and the door opened. Pauley followed by Joe, hurried into the room.

"Minister, I'd like to know what's going on." Pauley said. "Why is Dr. Grant here?"

"Ambassador, this is an internal matter for my government," Olvera said.

"I understand, but that does not answer my question. Why is Dr. Grant here?"

"Ambassador, I'll tell you why I'm here," Alan said, breaking into the conversation. "They've found more tracks, and I'm supposed to go inspect them."

"Dr. Grant, what do you mean by more tracks?" Pauley asked.

"Didn't they tell you? Dinosaur tracks were found earlier this year in the mountains, and now it seems they've found more tracks."

"Dr. Grant, I'd like to know how you found out about this."

"A friend told me."

As Pauley and Olvera began to argue with one another, Alan glanced at Joe, who shrugged. It was becoming clear that he had no way out of this situation. "Excuse me," he said, raising his voice.

Pauley and Olvera fell silent, gazing at him.

"All right, I'll go."

"Dr. Grant –" Pauley said.

"Let's get this over with," Alan said, cutting the Ambassador off. He turned towards Joe. "Tell Ellie I'll be back later."

Joe shook his head. "I'm going with you."

"Like hell you are," Alan said.

"You are not going with Dr. Grant," Pauley said.

"Sir, Alan needs an interpreter," Joe said.

The last thing Alan wanted to do was to put Joe's life in danger, but he was correct. He had picked up a few phrases of Spanish, but he could not speak the language.

"Sorry, Alan, if you're going, I'm going." Joe looked at Alan and Pauley in defiance.

Pauley nodded and looked at Alan. "Dr. Grant, it's up to you."

"All right," Alan said in resignation.

* * *

After flying northwest from San Jose for over an hour, the helicopter carrying Alan, Joe, and a National Guard officer and three soldiers landed in a large clearing. After the officer and his squad got off the helicopter, Alan jumped down, joined in a few seconds by Joe.

Alan checked his surroundings, and saw a small rickety shed stood near the edge of the forest; a civilian jeep parked near it. A rough dirt road led away from the clearing. It was starting to drizzle, the cloudy skies darkening the area.

A man exited the shed and approached the group. The officer spoke to the man for a few seconds, then turned towards Alan and said something in Spanish.

"He wants us to follow him," Joe said.

Led by the nervous worker, the officer gave his men an order and they fell in behind him, followed by Alan and Joe.

Joe noted that Alan's head moved back and forth, his head cocked as though listening. Listening for what, he wondered.

The worker stopped, pointed towards the ground, and said something in Spanish.

Alan stared at the tracks, paying no attention to the others; in an instant, he guessed what species they were. He did not see tracks; he saw the cunning eyes, the incredible speed, and strength of the animals. With an effort, he shook off the image, aware that Joe was speaking to him.

"Do you know what they are?" Joe asked.

"I'm betting Velociraptors," Alan said. "A year old or so, by the size of the tracks. Muldoon said they were lethal at six months." He gazed towards the rain forest, aware it had gone silent. "Oh, shit," he whispered, as the hackles rose on his neck. "Joe, tell him we need to get out of here, right now," he said whispered.

Joe nodded and said something to the officer, who shook his head.

Alan did not need a translation to know the man did not understand the danger they were in. "Start back to the chopper."

Joe started to argue; it looked like Alan had lost his nerve. He started as he heard a hiss and a growl; he turned and gaped behind him at the creature standing on its hind legs.

Alan turned then froze, fighting back the panic enveloping his entire body. The raptor had not moved and was staring at the chopper as if waiting for something; he realized, with a sick feeling, he knew it was waiting for the men to run to the helicopter.

One of the men in front of him did just that and ran towards the chopper. At once, the rest did the same. The raptor barked a command, and Alan was transported back to Montana. _They attack, not from the front, but from the side,_ he had told the kid. As he had predicted, two other raptors appeared out of the forest, running towards the panicked soldiers.

Alan stood, rooted in astonishment, as the first raptor ran right past them. A few seconds later, in horror, he saw the first man go down, screaming. The helicopter's engine revved and he felt the air displacement from the rotors as it took off.

Gathering himself, Alan did not take the time to think about why the raptor did not go after them; he knew that they only had a few seconds to get to safety. He thought of the shed and but dismissed it as a possibility. He knew of only one safe place to find safety.

Joe saw the worker make it to the shack, and slam the door behind him. "Alan, the shack."

"No!" Alan said, as Joe started to run towards the shed.

Joe stopped and spun around. "Why?"

"No time to explain, we have to get into a tree."

Joe hesitated then nodded, betting his life that Alan's experience would carry them through. They sprinted into the forest, Alan in the lead.

Alan prayed there weren't more raptors. He did not want to go far; the important thing was getting off the ground as soon as possible. He halted and spun around, and pointed to a suitable tree. "That one," he said.

Understanding, Joe grabbed the lowest branch and began to climb. Alan let him get one level up before he began to scramble up the tree. They climbed as fast as they could, their fear driving them upward.

Joe stopped and looked down at Alan, who soon pulled himself to Joe's level. Peering towards the ground, he judged their height against how high the raptor had jumped in the control center. "Higher," he whispered.

Joe nodded. This time Alan took the lead. He climbed a few feet higher and pulled himself onto a ledge; he realized it was similar the one he had been on with the children. He looked towards the ground and decided it was high enough. Joe came up behind him, and Alan nodded, pointing down. They both sat down, breathing hard. The fit was a little tight, but it would work Alan decided.

"Alan—" Joe said.

"Shh," Alan said, holding up his hand. The screams had died off, but the raptors were still out there. They were not safe. They had left a scent trail and it had not rained enough to wash it away. The raptors could not climb trees, but he did not want them to know where they were hiding.

Joe nodded; numb, out of his element. He heard nothing except for an occasional snarl or growl, the animals had gone quiet, probably feeding. His stomach lurched at the thought. He was mystified why Alan had chosen a tree instead of the solid walls of the shed. But he had got them this far, so he must have a reason. With the crack of splintering wood, he heard another gut wrenching scream.

Beside him, Alan closed his eyes, and exhaled slowly.

"The shed?" Joe whispered.

Alan nodded. The man had been doomed the minute he had entered the building. He had seen there was no way to lock out the raptors, the door could easily smashed.

With a chill, Joe knew he would be dead, if not for Alan's quick decision.

Alan had spent a large part of his adult life outdoors and had learned to read and interpret the sounds of nature. The sounds of the predators died away, but the forest remained silent, as though listening for the raptors. As darkness fell, he realized it was raining harder. Keep it up, he prayed. The more it rained, the more their trail would wash away. He cupped his hands to collect the falling rain, and then took a drink. Joe followed suit; gulping the clean fresh rainwater.

* * *

Ellie stared out the window into the growing darkness, her apprehension increasing by the minute. Something was wrong. She had called Joe and was told he was not there. The man had been evasive which worried her even more. She had then asked for the Ambassador and was told he was not available either. Then Olvera could not be reached. Where was Alan?

There was a knock at the door, Ellie hurried to it and jerked it open. It was Ambassador Pauley, Olvera and another man. Her stomach tightened in sudden dread "Where's Alan?"

"Dr. Sattler, may I come in? I need to talk to you." Pauley said.

She closed her eyes to calm herself, and then moved aside to let Pauley enter. She turned towards him. "Where is Alan?" If Pauley did not answer her she would scream.

Pauley took a deep breath. "Dr. Sattler, I have some bad news."

* * *

The rain had masked the sound of the forest and its inhabitants; as it let up, Alan heard the welcome sounds of the forest. Alan sighed in relief. "They're gone," he said, keeping his voice quiet.

"My God, I've never seen anything like those animals," Joe said.

Alan nodded. He refused to dwell on what had happened. He had to remain focused on what he had to do to get them home. _Work the problem…_ The chopper was gone; he did not think any of the soldiers had made it to safety. Should they wait for a rescue? The Costa Rican's might think everyone else was dead, and close off the area. If they decided to leave, they could not walk out; the jeep was the only way out. Did they dare try it later that night? It was a cloudy moonless night, and he could not see two feet in front of him. He knew the direction they had to go to get to the jeep, but they would never find it without a flashlight.

"What are we going to do?" Joe asked.

"We have a couple of options, as I see it. The rain washed away our scent trail, so we should be safe here as long as we stay quiet. We can stay here and wait for a rescue party—"

"Do you think they'll come? Won't they think everyone's dead?"

"That's a distinct possibility. I do know Ellie won't give up on us, but who knows if she or anyone else could find us."

"What's the other option?" Joe asked.

"At daybreak we make a run for the jeep and get the hell out of here. Did you see that dirt road when we landed?"

"I saw it."

"It must connect with a paved road at some point. It looked like we headed northeast after we took off. If we can make it to a town, we can call for reinforcements. What do you think?"

"I think it's the only option we have."

"I do too. Look, why don't you get some sleep?" Alan asked.

"Here?"

"You'll be surprised how easy it is. I'll keep watch."

Joe chuckled. "Wake me in a couple of hours, will you?"

"I will."

* * *

Shocked by what Pauley had told her, Ellie's strength gave way and she almost collapsed. Pauley rushed forward to assist her. "Dr. Sattler—Ellie, please come and sit down."

"Get away from me," she said, pushing his hand away.

There was a knock at the door behind Pauley. "Ellington, can you get that?" he asked, once again attempting to help Ellie.

"Yes, sir."

Ellington opened the door; Pauley looked around and saw it was Robert Muldoon.

Muldoon took one look at the scene and shoved Ellington out of the way, then rushed over to Ellie. She looked at him mute, unable to speak.

"What the hell's going on here? Ellie, are you okay?" he asked.

"Mr. Muldoon, there's been an accident. We asked Dr. Grant to inspect some tracks that were found in the forest," Olvera said.

"Joe Reiling went with him," Pauley said.

"Oh, no, dear God, no," Muldoon said. Beside him, Ellie began to cry; he reached out and took her hand.

"The animals came back and attacked the party," Olvera continued. "The only survivors were the helicopter pilots."

"Where did this happen?" Muldoon asked.

"A forest that was being cleared for a pasture. Near the mountains," Olvera said.

"Which mountains?" Muldoon asked.

"The Isamola Mountains."

Ellie and Robert exchanged outraged looks. "You knew there were dinosaurs in the area, even before these tracks were found, and you not only put Alan and Joe in harm's way, but your soldiers, too. You wanted to get rid of him," Ellie said.

Olvera stiffened. "Dr. Sattler, there was never any intent to harm anyone," he said.

Ellie did not believe a word he said. "Where is his body?" She asked her voice soft.

"We have not retrieved the bodies yet," Olvera said.

Ellie looked at Olvera, her gaze sharp and penetrating. "Then how do you know he's dead?"

"According to the pilot's report, there no way he or anyone else could have survived. They said the dinosaurs cut off all means of escape."

_It had to be the bloody __raptors again,_ Muldoon thought. _If they'd only gotten rid of the damn things, or better yet, never bred them in the first place…_

"Did they see Alan killed?" Ellie asked.

"Well, no. The pilots said in the chaos they lost track of both he and Mr. Reiling," Olvera said.

At that moment, Ellie knew in her heart Alan was alive. "He's alive."

"I know you'd like to believe that; I want to believe it too. But it's impossible," Pauley said.

"You don't know Alan," Ellie said. "He's alive and if Joe is with him, then Joe's alive too. We have to go out there and find him."

"Ambassador, if there's one man who could survive a situation like this it's Alan Grant," Muldoon. "If you don't want to help us then we'll find them, one way or the other."

Ellie looked at Muldoon and managed a smile. Muldoon winked at her. "We'll get him back."

"Ellie, the scene is not going to be pretty," Pauley said.

"Ambassador, you forget. I know what carnivorous dinosaurs can do to a human body. I know he's alive," she said, her voice stern.

"Minister?" Pauley asked.

After a moment, Olvera nodded. "We leave at dawn."

* * *

The voice, feather light, almost a caress, came into Alan's mind. "Hello, dear one."

"Amanda?"

"Yes, Alan."

"How..." He could not tell if he spoke aloud or in his mind. "Am I dreaming?"

"Think of it as a dream. You have to stop blaming yourself for what happened to me and our baby."

"Amanda, I can't... I can't help wondering, if you hadn't been pregnant I wouldn't have lost you."

"The pregnancy did not cause the aneurysm. It was meant to be, both for me and our baby."

"The doctor told me that, but still, I couldn't help thinking it caused it. Your mother… what she told me."

"I know what my mother said," Amanda said, regret in her voice. "It was a terrible thing to say."

"She didn't mean it, she was distressed. But she said what I was thinking."

"I'm so sorry, Alan. Do you love Ellie?"

Somehow, Alan was not surprised Amanda knew about Ellie. "Yes, I do," he said, without hesitation.

"She needs to hear that from you, or you'll lose her."

"I know, but I feel like I'm betraying you."

"You're not betraying anyone. We had a wonderful marriage, and nothing will ever change that. Ellie's a good, kind woman, and I know you will have a full loving marriage with her as well."

"You don't mind if I get married again?"

"Of course not, I want you to be happy. If the situation was reversed, wouldn't you want me to be happy?"

Alan thought a minute. "Yes, of course." He felt he emotional walls he had taken so much time to construct around his heart began to crumble.

"I have to go now," Amanda said. "I'll always cherish the time we had."

"I will too."

"Goodbye, Alan."

Alan opened his eyes, and blinked. Had he been speaking with Amanda, or was it his conscience speaking to him. He would never know, he guessed. Despite the situation, he found himself at peace. The guilt he had been carrying was gone. Leaning his head against a limb, he closed his eyes and dozed, knowing that somehow he would survive this ordeal.

* * *

Ellie and Muldoon climbed into the Huey, followed by Pauley and Olvera. Behind their helicopter, another sat as a squad of armed soldiers boarded the craft. Both the choppers had mounted machine guns. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon.

Ellie sat down on a bench, Muldoon beside her. She knew Pauley and Olvera thought she was in shock or hysterical. But she was certain Alan was alive, and it gave her a strange sense of calm.

Pauley came over to her. "We're going to follow the road they would have taken back to _San Jose_. Hopefully we'll meet them."

Ellie nodded, knowing Pauley did not really believe Alan was alive. "Good."

* * *

Alan gave Joe's shoulder a nudge. "Joe, wake up."

"Wha…" Joe opened his eyes, and then looked around wildly as he remembered where he was.

"See, you can sleep in a tree."

"I thought you were going to wake me up?"

"You needed your beauty sleep."

Joe scowled and shook his head. "Did you hear anything?"

"If they came through, they didn't wake me up. Everything sounds normal. I had the strangest dream, though."

"What about?"

After a second, Alan smiled. "Never mind. You still okay with our plan?"

"Yeah, I'm good."

Alan nodded. "Can you drive a stick?"

"Sure, why?"

"I bet you run faster than I do, and those extra seconds might make a difference. When we go, I want you to make a beeline for the jeep and drive."

"What if there's no key?"

Alan had thought of that potential dilemma. "Then we'll have a problem. I want to spend as little time as possible on the ground. If there's no key, then head back to the tree, and we'll think of something else." There was no backup plan if they could not start the jeep. "And look—if something happens to me, you don't stop or try to help me. Promise me you'll keep going."

"Okay, I will."

"Ready?"

"Yeah."

Alan climbed down the tree, making as little noise as possible, then waited for Joe to join him. He motioned for him to follow. As they approached the clearing, he spotted the jeep. He went down on one knee, watching and listening to his surroundings; sensing nothing was out of place.

Joe faced out from Alan to watch behind them. Again, he felt out of his element, and only the unruffled presence of the man beside him kept him calm.

After several seconds, Alan was as sure as he could be about the area. He stood and took a deep breath. Nodding at Joe, he pointed to the jeep. "Ready?"

The jeep looked terribly far away, Joe thought, but he nodded.

"Okay, go," Alan whispered and burst into the clearing. As he had expected Joe passed him, his arms and legs pumping, running for his life.

Joe ran with every fiber of his being. He ignored the gruesome remains of the dead; did not look back at Alan. He closed the last few yards to the jeep and jumped in; looking for the ignition, hoping against hope the key was there.

On an impulse, Alan slowed, then stopped next to an M-16 lying on the ground. He grabbed it, then took off running. He was relieved to hear the jeep's engine catch and start.

Joe gunned the motor and despite what Alan had said, looked behind him. He was coming fast, carrying an M-16. "Come on, come on," he muttered.

Alan threw himself into the back of the jeep, coming to rest in the back seat. "Go," he said.

Joe did not wait; he released the clutch and floored the accelerator. The jeep threw up a stream of mud as they took off; Joe spun the jeep around and aimed for the dirt road. Moving through the gears, he raced as fast as he dared down the bumpy road.

Alan climbed onto the back seat, then checked the M-16's magazine. It was full.

"Hang on!" Joe yelled.

Alan was thrown upwards, and then slammed down on the seat. As the jeep careened over the rough road, he steadied himself by grabbing the side of the jeep with one hand, the other clutching the rifle, watching for the raptors to appear.

"Oh crap," Joe said, slamming on the brakes.


	18. Chapter 17

* * *

"Damn," Alan said, as he turned around and faced the front of the jeep. He slapped his hand on the seat in dismay; they had come to a fork in the road. "Joe, you're driving. Pick a road and get us the hell out of here."

Joe sat for a moment, then he turned onto the left fork. Several times, as he navigated the rough, winding dirt road, he wondered if he had taken the wrong fork. His fears proved unfounded when the jeep suddenly plunged into sunlight and he saw a paved road intersecting the dirt road. He slowed the jeep and then stopped. "I made the last decision, it's your turn."

Alan looked behind him at the sun peaking over the tops of the trees, then pointed to his left. "South, that way. Let's go home." He settled back into position as the jeep took off and sped down the road.

After traveling for miles without seeing anyone, Joe became aware of two small black spots in the sky; spots, which began to grow in size. "Alan, look there."

Alan peered into the distance; he clapped Joe on the back in exhilaration, as it became clear what the objects were. "Those are helicopters. Stop the jeep!"

Joe jammed on the brakes and brought the jeep to a halt. Alan jumped out of the vehicle before it had fully stopped, leaving the M-16 behind. He joined Joe and began to wave his arms.

* * *

One of the crew members went to Olvera and Pauley and gestured to them; then Ellie sensed the helicopter slowing its forward movement. Beside her, Muldoon stirred and watched as Pauley made his way to them.

"The pilot has seen someone on the road. It may be Reiling and Dr. Grant," Pauley said, shouting to be heard over the helicopter engine.

Ellie came to her feet in a rush, and hurried over to the open door of the helicopter. Grabbing a hand strap, she stared out the door, ignoring the soldier's warning look. As they circled the road, she saw two figures waving next to a jeep. Pure relief and joy swept through her as she recognized Alan, waving his hat.

Both helicopters landed on the road, away from the jeep. The crew member nodded, and Ellie jumped down from the helicopter, her eyes glued on Alan. They worked towards each other, then broke into a run. "Oh, Alan," she cried as she flung herself into his arms.

"I knew you'd come," he whispered, his voice hoarse with emotion; then he crushed his mouth against hers, putting every bit of the love he felt behind the kiss. "I love you." How easy it was now, he marveled. _Thank you, Amanda, for your last gift..._

"I love you, too," she answered, and fresh tears flowed at hearing the words she so wanted to hear. "I was so worried about you." She ran her hands up and down his arms, looking for any injuries. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine," he said. He kissed her again, holding her tight. "In fact, I'm more than fine right now."

Laughing, she broke the embrace as Joe approached. On impulse, she gave him a hug. "Joe, I'm so glad to see you."

"I'm glad to see you, too, Ellie." Joe pointed at Alan and smiled. "I'm here because of this guy."

"Dr. Grant, I do think you have nine lives," Pauley said as he and Muldoon came up to them, Olvera following close behind.

"I think I've used several lives up in the last few weeks," Alan said. He nodded at Robert Muldoon and shook his hand. "Robert, thanks for coming with Ellie."

"It was the least I could do." Muldoon said. "I'm glad to see you alive and well."

"Dr. Grant, I know this is not the best time to ask you any questions," Olvera said.

Ellie shot him a dagger look. "Minister —"

"I'm sorry Dr. Sattler, but we need to know."

"Can't you please leave him alone, just this once?"

"It's okay, Ellie," Alan said, guessing the man's question. "Everyone else is dead. That's what you want to know, am I right? Did anyone else survive?"

"Yes, that was my question."

"We were ambushed and the soldiers panicked. They tried to make it back to the helicopter, but the raptors seemed to know what the soldiers were going to do. A raptor went right past us, I don't know why it left us alone," he said, shaking his head. As the adrenalin rush he had been experiencing subsided, a great weariness began to grow within him. "The raptors left the area during the night - I don't know where they went."

"That's fine Dr. Grant. The rest of the questions can wait," Pauley said, looking hard at Olvera in irritation.

"Very well, Ambassador. Dr. Grant, I will be in touch later," Olvera said. "I am going to accompany the other helicopter to retrieve the bodies of our soldiers. The pilot volunteered to fly back to the location." With a stiff nod, Olvera left them and trotted to the second helicopter.

"Let's get you two home," Pauley said.

Alan nodded, and they climbed aboard the helicopter. He slumped into a seat and removed his hat.

"I'm glad you didn't lose that one," Ellie said, touching the brim.

"Not a chance," Alan said. Propping his head against the bulkhead, he closed his eyes.

Soon, the rotors began to turn and after a few seconds, they began their ascent. As they flew back to the city, they did not speak, but Ellie clasped Alan's hand, reluctant to break physical contact. He thought with distaste about the other helicopter's mission to retrieve what was left of the bodies. He should have done something to save the others, he thought guiltily. But what did he do? He ran like a coward.

At last, Alan felt the helicopter begin to descend, and eager to be back on the ground, he stood up as soon as the chopper had come to rest. He jumped out of the helicopter, and grunting in surprise, almost went to his knees.

"Alan?" Ellie asked, reaching out for him.

"I'm fine, just landed wrong," Alan said. "I guess I'm a little tired." As the group walked away from the helicopter, he spotted the now familiar white van; standing beside it was a man he did not recognize.

"Ellie, you've met Roger Ellington," Pauley said.

At first Ellie drew a blank, then she remembered he had accompanied Pauley last night. "Yes, I remember," she said.

"Dr. Grant, I'm Roger Ellington, Joe's supervisor. I'll be taking you home."

"Okay," Alan said. Right now, he did not care how they got back to the hotel, or who drove; he just wanted to get there as fast as possible. He crawled into the van, Ellie right behind him.

"Joe, I don't want to see you anywhere near the Embassy tomorrow, understand?" Pauley said, as Joe climbed into the passenger seat.

Too worn out to argue, Joe nodded. "Yes, sir."

After a short trip, the van pulled up to the hotel, and the two scientists exited the van. Joe rolled his window down. "Take care," Joe said. "Alan, I owe you. If I ever have a son, I'm naming him after you."

Alan smiled and clasped the young man on the shoulder. "We'll talk to you later."

"Okay, Alan."

* * *

Alan and Ellie reached their suite; retrieving his key, Alan's hand trembled. It took him a few seconds to unlock the door.

"I'm going to take a shower and change clothes," Alan said.

"Okay. Are you hungry?"

"Maybe... Coffee would be good."

"I'll whip us up some then," she said, trying to be upbeat. She flicked the switch to turn on the coffee maker, then went and sat down in one of the dining room chairs. She should be overjoyed, jumping for joy at Alan's admission that he loved her. She had not missed how his hand, normally rock steady, had quivered. With fatigue, or delayed shock? With a worried sigh, she waited for the coffee to finish brewing.

Alan wrapped a towel around him and entered the bedroom. Putting on a pair of sweat pants, he began to pull on a t-shirt. As he pulled the shirt down, he began to shake and he sat on the bed, gasping for control.

Hearing the shower shut off, Ellie poured them both a cup of coffee. Picking up the cups, she walked to the bedroom door. "Alan, here's your coffee."

"Alan?" she asked, when he didn't answer; then was shocked as he looked at her, anguish in his eyes. "Oh my God," she whispered. She hurried over and sat both cups on the dresser, then she took him in her arms. "It's okay," she said, as she held his trembling form.

Alan's breathing slowed, and his body ceased shuddering. For a long time, they clung together, drawing strength from Ellie. He looked at her, confusion in his eyes. "I don't know what happened to me."

"I do. You've been holding so much back since we got here, trying to be strong for me, for Lex and Tim. What happened yesterday put you over the edge."

"Maybe… I don't know." He looked at her, a wan smile playing on his face. "You know, some breakfast might be good."

"I think so, too." She looked at the clock radio. It was just after eight. "They're still serving breakfast. Why don't I go get us a tray of food?"

"Okay. I think I'd like some toast and cereal."

"I can handle that." She hugged him for a moment then looked into his eyes. "Remember what you said that day we arrived? We will get through this together."

Alan frowned. "Sure seems like a long time ago." He picked up the cup of coffee and walked into the living room with Ellie.

"I'll be back in a few minutes." Ellie walked to the serving tables, and spotted the general manager, McTeer.

"Good morning Dr. Sattler, how's everything with you and Dr. Grant."

_Just hunky dory,_ she thought. "Well, Alan's feeling a little under the weather, so I thought I'd take a plate back for him."

"That will be fine. It's not anything serious, is it?"

"No, he'll be fine."

"Good. Just leave the tray outside the door and it will be picked up later."

"Thanks." She took a tray and filled two bowls of corn flakes; deciding they could use their milk. After she buttered a few slices of toast, she put a few slices of cantaloupe on the plates. That should just about do it, she thought, then carried the tray back to their suite.

"Here we go," Ellie said, setting the tray on the table. "I got us some cantaloupe, too."

"Good."

Ellie was glad to see him eat with some enthusiasm. "McTeer said to set the tray outside after we finish."

Alan nodded. "Okay."

Afterwards, they loaded up with the tray with their dirty dishes, then placed the tray on the floor of the hall. Alan hesitated for a moment, then stuck the do not disturb sign on the doorknob.

"Why don't you lie down for a while?" Ellie asked.

"I think I'll do that. Want to join me?"

"Yeah, I'm beat."

"Wait," she said. She reached over to the phone and shut off the ringer. "No phone calls."

"Sounds good to me. I don't want to hear a phone."

"Me either. The front desk can get our messages. I'll get the one in the other bedroom. I think I'll take a quick shower, too."

"Okay."

Good riddance, Alan thought, turning off the phone in his room. He lay down, closed his eyes, and forced himself to relax.

* * *

Alan moaned, his head flipping from side to side. Ellie came awake, her hand on his chest. "Easy, honey, easy," she whispered, caressing his chest. It seemed to calm him and he slipped back into sleep. Ellie sighed and laid her head on his chest. It had been like this for several hours.

It seemed like she had just slept for a few minutes, when he moaned again, this time louder. "No, Ellie, don't go in there!" he shouted, sitting up.

"I'm here, Alan," she said. He was shaking again, his eyes full of horror.

"Ellie," he said his voice hoarse. For a long time they held each other, then Alan rushed out of bed and charged out to the patio. He sat at the table; his head buried in his hands.

Ellie stood at the door, debating whether to approach him or leave him alone. Oh, hell, yes, she would go to him. Approaching Alan, she put her hand on his shoulder. In response, he placed his hand on hers.

"It was horrible," he said. "We were looking at the tracks. The minute I saw the tracks I thought they were raptors, young ones. Then the forest became silent, that terrible silence. I knew they were out there – tried to get the soldiers to leave; but they didn't understand the danger. It was already too late." Alan closed his eyes remembering the absolute terror he had felt.

Ellie did not interrupt; she knelt down beside his chair; determined to let Alan talk, to get what happened into the open. It would be the best thing.

"Then a third one appeared right in front of us. We were trapped, just like in the Visitors Center. They were waiting for us to go back to the chopper. The soldiers broke and ran. God, they were just kids. I can't figure out why the first raptor passed us by!" he exclaimed. He rubbed his eyes, then looked at her, his eyes racked with guilt. "I ran into the trees like a damn coward," he said.

"Alan, what could you have done? You couldn't help the soldiers."

"I don't know, but I should have done _something_. I left those men to be torn apart."

Ellie did not know what to say. She knew if Alan had been able to save the other men, he would have done everything he could to accomplish that, but he would not see it that way. "Alan Grant, I've known you for over four years, and if there's one thing I've learned about you, it's that you are not a coward. Ask Lex and Tim, if you are a coward. Ask Joe if you are a coward. They owe their lives to you. You did the best you could. You have no reason to feel guilty about anything."

"Maybe so, I just don't know, Ellie," he said, his voice despairing.

She sat down next to him and took his hand. "It's time to put your plan in motion."

"You're right, I can't take anymore. It's tearing me apart. I'll think about it later. I think right now I'd like to try to get back to sleep."

That he would even consider using the information was a change, a sign of his desperation.

He stood and put his arm around her, and returned to bed.

* * *

Alan awoke and snuggled closer to Ellie; the sun was rising he saw. He was relieved; he had managed to sleep through the night. Ellie was still asleep; he gently brushed her blond hair off her forehead. She had been amazing; that he was coherent at all was because of her.

Ellie stirred and opened her eyes. She found herself looking into his eyes; eyes that were clear of the dreadful agony she had seen yesterday. She put her arms around his neck. "Good morning, Dr. Grant."

"Good morning, Dr. Sattler."

"How do you feel?"

"Better, thanks to you. Hopefully the worst is over. I'm starving though."

"I am too." She glanced at the clock; and saw it was 7:15. "Wow, we slept through the night."

"I know," Alan said.

They both climbed out of bed. Alan went into one bathroom, while Ellie went into the other to freshen up. Alan ran a comb through his bed hair and splashed some water on his face, then brushed his teeth. Back in his bedroom, he scowled at the phone, then with a lack of enthusiasm, turned the ringer back on. Entering the living area, he did the same for that phone.

"I turned the phone back on," he said to Ellie as she entered the room.

"Oh, okay. Ready?" she asked.

"Yep." He shut the door behind them and they walked to the serving area. Alan helped himself to a large helping of eggs, several pieces of bacon, some fruit, and a bowl of cereal. He poured himself a cup of coffee. Ellie selected her food and as they searched for a table, they spotted Robert Muldoon.

"Good morning, folks," Muldoon said, as they approached his table.

"Morning, Robert."

"How are you doing?" Robert asked.

"Better than I was yesterday," Alan said.

Robert nodded, understanding. "I'd love the company. Why don't you join me?"

"Sure, thanks," Alan said, and placing his tray on the table, he and Ellie took a seat. "Robert, I need to know something."

"Sure."

"When the soldiers took off, one of the raptors ran right by Joe and me. It went by no more than a foot away from us. I know it could see us, why did it do that?"

"That's a good question," Robert said. "How old were they?"

"I would guess about a year old," Alan said.

"I can think of a couple of possibilities. The first is the prey instinct. The raptor saw the men running and keyed on that instead of you, since you were standing still. The second could be lack of hunting experience. I think the first possibility is the more likely."

Alan thought a minute and pursed his lips. "Sounds as good as anything I could come up with. It's been bothering me, among other things."

"Don't let it bother you. Be glad you're alive."

"I'm trying to think of that."

"Robert, what are you going to do now?" Ellie asked.

Muldoon shrugged. "I don't know. I quit hunting a few years ago, and after being hunted by these things, I have even less desire to take up hunting again. So, I'm going to take some time off and think about my future." Muldoon stood and smiled at the two scientists. "Well, I'll talk to you two later."

"Goodbye," Alan said.

They finished their breakfast and walked back to the suite. The phone rang and Alan sighed.

"I'll get it," Ellie said. Reluctantly, she answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Good morning, Dr. Sattler." Olvera said.

"Hello, Minister," she said.

"May I please speak to Dr. Grant?"

Ellie saw Alan's expression darken at the mention of Olvera's name.

"I'll take it," he said. He put his hand over the handset. "I'm going to end this right now," he said to Ellie.

Ellie gazed at Alan in surprise.

"What can I do for you, Minister Olvera?"

Ellie heard his clipped tone; it was reserved for his deepest anger. What did he mean about ending it? Was he putting their plan into motion?

"Dr. Grant, I wanted to apologize for yesterday's unpleasantness."

"Oh, so it's simply an unpleasant event now."

"Dr. Grant, I realize you're upset."

"Upset? I passed upset a long time ago. Tell me, how many soldiers were slaughtered? You see, I was too busy running for my life to get a body count. How many families are in mourning now? And don't forget about the worker."

"Three of our soldiers were killed, and the worker, unfortunately," Olvera admitted. "Dr. Grant, it is important that we understand these dinosaurs; what species they were."

"They were Velociraptors."

"Thank you for telling us that. But we need to speak to you about possible defenses against these animals."

"I'm sorry, Minister Olvera, I'm not going to be able to do that."

The line went silent.

"Dr. Grant, I don't understand," Olvera said after a few seconds.

"It's very simple. I've told you and your colleagues multiple times everything I know about Jurassic Park and InGen, and I have no desire to rehash what happened in the forest." He took a breath to steady himself. "You have a problem, _Minister_ Olvera. InGen created these monstrosities and short of napalming hundred of square miles of forest, I don't know how you're going to clean the situation up. As for Dr. Sattler and I – we are more than ready to resume our lives."

"I realize you are impatient to get home, but as I have said before, we cannot let you return to the United States until we have a resolution to this crisis," Olvera said.

Alan heard a note of exasperation in the man's voice. "Minister, that's fine, you do what you have to do. I'm going to do what I have to do. I guess you've heard of CNN, right?"

"Yes, I have," Olvera said.

Alan heard a sudden wariness in his voice. _That got his attention, _he thought. "Good. You probably also know CNN is broadcast in one form or another in many countries around the world."

"What are you saying, Dr. Grant?"

"Just this… A few days ago, we wrote and then sent two colleagues a very detailed account of our misadventures on Jurassic Park. My college roommate just happens to be a producer for CNN in Atlanta. His name is Bill Carrack. Now I know Bill, and he would love to get his mitts on a story like this." He did not mention Ben and Sue had not read the journals.

He paused just long enough to let that sink in. "Just think of the publicity Costa Rica would receive from the story. And what if I added the part about the latest... unpleasantness?"

Olvera gasped. "Dr Grant, do you have any idea what would happen to our tourism industry?"

So far, Olvera was reacting just as Alan had hoped. He resisted an urge to smile. "It would destroy the industry."

"But… surely you wouldn't."

"Surely I would. In fact, I've already put the ball into play." Thinking fast, he knew he would have to be creative. "I've left word with our colleagues that if we're not on the way home in twenty four hours, they are to make copies and then send the originals to Bill."

Alan paused, then continued. "So, what's it going to be Minister, are you going to let us go, or is the story of Jurassic Park and the raptor massacre going to be spread all over the world?" He held his breath waiting for Olvera's answer.

"Dr. Grant, I implore you not to do this. It would ruin my country," Olvera said.

"You let us go and you'll never hear a word from me or Ellie about any of this. It's that simple."

"Please give me some time to consult with my government."

"You have twenty four hours."

"Good day, Dr. Grant."

Alan hung up the phone, and leaned his head against the chair, wiping sweat off his forehead.

"My God, Alan, you must have scared him to death," she said, with a nervous chuckle.

"He reacted just as I hoped he would. I should have done this sooner," he said, with regret. "I need to call Ben," Alan said. He dialed the number for their radiophone; it was 8:45am. 24 hours... he thought. One way or another, the whole nightmare would be over in 24 hours... His attention snapped back as the line connected.

"Sue Kincannon."

"Sue, its Alan."

"Hi, Alan. How's everything?"

"I'm not sure. Look, things are in motion here. I've told the Costa Ricans if they don't let us go within twenty-four hours, I'll take the information contained in that envelope public. If you don't hear that we're coming home from either Ellie or me in that time, I need you open the package and read what's there. After that, I want you to call Bill Carrack and tell him the story. After that, make copies and send him the originals."

"I'll tell Ben. Are you two going to be okay?"

"Yeah, unless we end up in jail. I hope we'll be on our way back home very soon."

"I hope so, too."

"Keep somebody by the phone, okay?"

"Sure. I'll talk to you later."

"Hopefully..." Alan said.

"Well, that's that," Ellie said, taking a seat next to him on the couch. "All we can do is wait."

"Yep… Ellie, I meant every word of what I said yesterday. I love you with all my heart. I have since the moment you walked into my office. Do you remember that day?"

"I sure do." She had applied to and been accepted into the PhD program at two other universities. She loved the University of Denver when she had visited the school; the facilities were excellent, and the students she spoke with were enthusiastic about the curriculum and the faculty. Those factors and the excellent reputation of the PhD program sold her.

That Alan was handsome she knew before enrolling. She had seen his picture and even attending a lecture he had given. She was not prepared for his extraordinary blue eyes that seemed to look into her very soul. "I thought you had the most gorgeous eyes I had ever seen. I still do," she said.

"Is that why you decided to come to the University?" he asked, with a grin.

Ellie laughed. "No, of course not."

There had been an instant, almost electric connection between them, but Alan's integrity would not allow him to take advantage of her while she was a student. It had been difficult at times; she had worked as his research assistant at the University and next to him as part of the team in the field during the summer digs. She had become a valued and respected member of the team.

"I was so nervous before our first date," she said.

"You were nervous, what about me?" Alan asked. "I felt like I was sixteen again." He had asked her to dress up and he had shown up in a suit and tie. Wanting to impress her, he had taken her to the nicest restaurant in Denver. "You took my breath away in the dress you wore. Did you know Ben and Rothman had a bet about how soon we'd start going out?"

Ellie burst out laughing. "No! Who won?"

"Ben did, said it would take a week."

They had gone out for the first time one week after she had received her PhD. They had been together almost a year. "I didn't realize we were that obvious."

"Well, Karen noticed too," Alan said, with a shake of his head. "She all but put the phone in my hand to call you."

Ellie laughed again, and then looked serious. "Thank you for waiting."

"It was for the best. I've seen too many professor student relationships go bad, and the student seems to get hurt, both emotionally and professionally. If I had caved in, and believe me I wanted to – no matter what you had accomplished, you wouldn't have been Ellie Sattler, PhD candidate. You would have been have been Dr. Grant's girlfriend."

"You're right. It happened to a friend of mine during my sophomore year. He did a number on her, and she tried to commit suicide."

Alan winced and shook his head.

"So, I promised myself I would never get involved with a professor. I was okay until I met you. But I don't think you were ready for a relationship then."

"I wasn't, not for a long time."

"There were times when you looked so sad, so despondent."

"I was the weirdest thing. I'd be going along good, and then somebody would say something, or I'd see something that reminded me of Amanda. It was like being kicked in the stomach. I never told you what happened, did I?"

"No, I didn't want to pry."

"She was a paleontologist too. I seem to have a thing for women who like to dig up dinosaurs."

Ellie smiled and caressed his arm. "I've read some of her papers. She was very talented."

"She was a terrific teacher too." Like his love for Ellie, he had kept the sorrow of his wife's death locked deep inside him. It was time to exorcize those feelings. "She was taking a sabbatical from teaching that semester, working on a research paper. She was going to meet me for lunch, but she didn't show up. I called her; she didn't answer. I knew she would have called if something had come up so I went home." Alan took a deep breath.

"It's okay. You don't have to put yourself through this."

Alan shook his head. "I need to tell you." He took another deep breath. "I found her there. She had an aneurism; we had no warning. She was only thirty-one. We had just found out she was pregnant."

Ellie took a sharp breath. "Oh, Alan."

Alan nodded. "We had told our parents, but were going to wait until the first ultrasound to tell everybody else. The doctors told me the pregnancy didn't cause the aneurism, but way down deep I felt it was because of it. Amanda's mother blamed me."

"She blamed you?" Ellie asked, outraged at such an accusation.

"She didn't mean it, and she apologized later. But it reinforced the guilt I was feeling."

"I finished out the semester, but I don't remember much about it. I tried to do a field season, but I cracked up after a few weeks and went back to New Zealand for the rest of the summer. I came back in the fall, and went through the motions again. I was getting better when you showed up, but you were the one that made me want to live, and to work again. I love you, honey."

In the entire time she had known him, he had never opened his heart to her like this. She knew he prided himself on his independence and self-reliance, even when it cost him so much emotionally. "I love you too."

"Is that why you didn't want to talk about having children?

Alan nodded. "I know it was irrational. I like kids – well, most kids, anyway."

Ellie laughed, then turned serious. "So…"

Alan nodded, then smiled. "So, yeah… I would love to have a baby with you."

"I'm so glad to know that," Ellie said.

"All this open heart stuff is tiring," he said.

Ellie saw a fleeting look of embarrassment pass over his face. "Hey, you don't always have to be the strong one, you know."

"I'll remember that." With a sudden surge of energy, he came to his feet. "I don't want to sit around here, why don't we go take a swim? The front desk will get our messages."

"That sounds good to me. I'll go stir crazy here."

After they changed into their swimsuits, Ellie took his hand as they strolled to the pool. "Do you think they'll let us go?"

Alan pursed his lips. "I think so. I don't think they have any choice."

"I can't help wonder if any other species might have escaped."

"I hope they're herbivores, veggiesaurus." The word reminded him of Lex, and he had to smile. He missed the kids; in a way, they were the first to put a crack in his emotional walls.

"What?"

"That's what Lex called the Brachiosaurs."

Ellie laughed. "I miss them."

"I was just thinking the same thing. Imagine that."

"Imagine that."

* * *

Joe answered the phone. "Reiling."

"Joe, this is Ambassador Pauley."

"Good morning, sir."

"I thought you weren't supposed to be here today."

"Sir, I was going nuts at home. Work keeps my mind off what happened."

"Very well. Since you're here, I need you to do something. Grant has stirred up a hornet's nest. It appears he and Dr. Sattler sent a journal about Jurassic Park to some friends back in the states. He's given the Costa Rican's an ultimatum, if they don't get cut loose in twenty four hours, the packet will be sent to an old college friend—who just happens to be a producer at CNN."

"Oh, man."

"Joe, what I need you to do is make an inquiry; a discreet inquiry. The man's name is Bill Carrack. Call Atlanta and find out if he works there."

"Should I talk to him?" Joe waited in silence until Pauley spoke again.

"No, don't do that. I don't want to get the man curious. If Grant knows there's a person by that name, I'm going to assume the college connection is true. Let me know what you find out."

"Yes, sir." Needing to find the number for CNN, Joe dialed the number of their research department.

"Frank Baker."

"Frank, this is Joe."

"Hey, Joe. What can I do for you?"

"Can you get me the number for the CNN bureau in Atlanta?"

"Okay, just a minute."

Baker put him on hold "Here it is. 404-759-4466," he said when he returned.

"Okay, great. Thanks a bunch."

"Hey, don't forget you owe me lunch."

"I haven't forgotten. Things are crazy around here right now, how about next week?"

"Sure, that'll work."

"Talk to you later."

"Bye."

Joe dialed the number he had been given.

"Cable News Network, may I help you?" the operator asked.

"Yes, this is Joe Reiling calling from the U. S. Embassy in San Jose, Costa Rica. I understand you have a producer by the name of Bill Carrack."

"Bill Carrack? Just a minute and let me check." After a few moments, the woman came back. "Yes, sir, one of our producers is named William Carrack. I can connect you if you like."

"No, that's fine. I just needed to verify the information. Thanks a lot."

"Yes, sir. Have a good day."

"Thanks."

"Ambassador, I just talked to CNN. There is a producer by that name." Joe said when connected to Pauley.

"Okay, I thought there would be." he said. "Did you talk to the man?"

"No sir, I just verified his name with the operator."

"Good. Joe, you know Grant better than I do, is he bluffing?"

"I've only known him for a few days, but he's not the bluffing type."

"I get that feeling, too."

"I thought he would be pushed over the edge at some point. I didn't expect this, though."

"I can't blame him."

"Me either. He's been a lot more patient than I would have been."

"Well, I'll keep you up to date."

"Thank you, sir." Joe put the phone back in the holder and let out a boisterous laugh. "You go get 'em Alan."

* * *

"Well, ready to go back?" Alan asked.

"Yeah, I guess we should."

As they walked back to their suite, Manuel caught Alan's eye, and he walked up to the desk.

"Dr. Grant, there is a message for you. He asked you to call them as soon as possible."

Alan glanced at the message. "Thanks, Manuel." He looked at the messages, and then handed them to Ellie. It was from Pauley.

"I bet the Embassy is very busy right now," Ellie said.

"It wouldn't surprise me a bit," he said as they entered the suite.

"Well, let's see what Pauley has to say." He dialed the number Manuel had given him.

"Ambassador Pauley's office, may I help you?"

"Uh, hi. My name is Alan Grant. Ambassador Pauley asked me to call him."

"Yes sir. Ambassador Pauley asked that you be put right through."

_I bet he did,_ he thought.

He glanced at Ellie and grinned. After being a pawn for so long, he was enjoying turning the tables on his tormentors.

"Dr. Grant, thank you for calling," Pauley said. "You've caused quite a commotion around here."

"That was my intention."

"I would like to think you could work this out with the Costa Ricans."

"I've come to the conclusion that the Costa Ricans aren't interested in working it out, Ambassador. So, either they let us go, or I tell the world about Jurassic Park. I take it you've checked out Bill?"

"We did," the man admitted. "There is a CNN producer by the name of William Carrack in the Atlanta bureau."

Alan heard Pauley chuckle. He seemed amused, rather than angry, by the turn of events.

"I admire the way you've outmaneuvered our governments."

"I didn't intend to outmaneuvere anyone. You may not believe this, but I have no desire to have the world know about Jurassic Park. All we want to do is go home."

"I believe you. I don't think they'll keep you much longer; they can't afford to let the publicity hurt the tourism industry."

"That's what I hope."

"Well, we'll be in touch if we hear anything."

"Okay, thanks."

Alan chuckled.

"What?" Ellie asked.

"They called CNN to check out my story. I wouldn't be surprised if Olvera does the same thing."

"I wonder if they talked to him."

"They better just confirm he works there. He's going to be very curious if they start asking questions, and if he gets curious, his reporters are going to start asking the Costa Ricans questions."

"That's the truth. We'll I'll take a shower..." Ellie stopped talking as the phone rang.

With a shrug, Alan answered the phone.

"Good afternoon, Dr. Grant."

"Good afternoon, Minister Olvera. I hope you have good news for us."

"I do have good news. We have decided that it would be in both our best interests to let you return home."

Alan gave Ellie thumbs up. She raised her arms in triumph.

"I think that's the best thing to do." He looked at Ellie and nodded. Ellie put her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing.

"Dr. Grant, about those documents…"

"As soon as we're home safe, they will be destroyed, and you'll never hear from us again."

"I understand. I regret what happened. Goodbye."

The line went dead. Alan hung up the phone and looked at Ellie, a silly grin on his face.

Ellie launched herself into his arms. "You did it!"

"Thank God, Ellie. Finally."

Ellie stood up and pulled him to his feet.

Alan could feel their hearts beating in excitement as they held each other. "Well, we'd better call Ben and Sue," he said.

"And Joe and the Ambassador, and my Mom and Dad, and Lex and Tim, too."

* * *

The Next Day

Joe parked the van next to the sleek Lear Jet with an InGen logo on the fuselage. Opening up the back door of the van, Alan removed a large suitcase; a gift from Joe. Ellie hoisted her backpack over her shoulder as they walked towards the jet.

"I'm going to miss that van," Alan joked, patting the side of the vehicle.

"It turns back into a pumpkin at midnight," Joe said.

As they approached the plane, two men descended down the ladder of the plane. Alan figured one of them would be Peter Ludlow. They had received a phone call from the man last night. Ludlow had been very interested in the journals they had sent Ben, and wanted to know what they were going to do with them. Without hesitation, Alan agreed to hand them over when they landed in Montana. They also agreed to sign non-disclosure agreements. Neither of them had any desire to talk about what happened.

"Sir, if you'd like I can stow your bag away," the uniformed man said.

He handed the suitcase to the man. "Thanks."

"Dr. Grant, Dr. Sattler," the other man said, brusquely. "I'm Peter Ludlow. If you'll step this way we'll take off once we finish refuelling."

"Can we have a minute with Mr. Reiling?" Alan asked. By the end of their phone conversation, he had decided Ludlow was clearly the type of corporate suit he despised. But Ludlow more than likely had approved their check, so he decided to play nice with the man. It would not be the first time he had done it.

"Of course, I'll wait for you in the cabin." The man turned and climbed up the stairs, then disappeared into the jet.

"Well," Joe said.

"Yeah," Alan said. "Joe, you have been the only bright spot in this whole mess."

"We can't thank you enough for what you did," Ellie said. "And don't say it was your job. What you did went way beyond your job."

Joe laughed. "Okay, I won't say it. I just wish it hadn't taken so long."

"It's over now, that's all I care about. Hey, if you ever find yourself in Denver, look us up at the University," Alan said.

"I'll do that. You two take care of each other." He shook Alan's hand. "And Ellie - not all of us government types are jerks," Joe said, his eyes twinkling.

Ellie winced, remembering her outburst in Olvera's office. "I know. I was a little upset."

Laughing, Joe put out his hand for Ellie to shake.

"Nope, that won't do." She gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek, her eyes misty.

"We'd better get on board. Good luck, Joe," Alan said.

"Same to you two."

Ellie started up the stairs followed by Alan and they disappeared into the airplane.

Joe walked back to the van as the jet's engines came to life. He started the van and backed it away from the plane, then watched the jet taxied onto the runway and lift into the sky.

* * *

Epilogue

Alan stood and watched the sun set over the chilly, arid landscape he loved so well. He had insisted on taking a detour to the dig site after leaving the small airport with Ellie and Ben. He was not sure why, maybe it was to confirm in his mind that the that the nightmare was finally over.

The events on Isla Nublar had changed him in fundamental ways and forced him to confront feelings he had kept long suppressed. He felt he and Ellie had taken a crucial step forward, and the first thing he planned to do when they got back to Denver, was buy an engagement ring.

He heard footfalls behind him, and Ellie slid her arm around his waist.

"It's so good to be here," Alan said.

"Yes it does. Come on Dr. Grant, we have a long drive ahead of us."

"Slave driver..."

* * *

Well, this is the end, finally. I'd like to first of all thank Yvonne for all her editing help, as well as her terrific plot suggestions. And I also have to send a big thanks to everyone who read the story, and those folks who left comments. They are much appreciated!


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